BOOK CLUB KIT KIT
A CONVERSATION WITH
JAX MILLER
WHAT COMPELLED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK? I enjoy writing about places that aren’t commonly written about, and there is not a more fitting place than Welch, Oklahoma, where Hell in the Heartland is primarily set. It is a ranching town surrounded by ghost towns that exhibit the results of dangerous lead mining, including sickness from toxicity, etc. But while the dark setting drew me in, I became fully immersed in the story and formed undeniable relationships with those involved. The story of what happened to Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman is genuinely a stranger-than-fiction tale, one that will break readers’ hearts and infuriate them at the same time. Once I began to scratch the surface, there was no other story I wanted to write about more than this one. Through this book, I hope it garners the attention this case and these families deserve.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE DOING RESEARCH FOR THE BOOK? I devoted the last four years to personally investigating and researching the crimes. I spent months at a time in Oklahoma, all expenses out-of-pocket, to get a better understanding of the land and its people. I’ve collected thousands of pages of documents (legal and otherwise), reports, statements, and recorded hundreds of hours of audio interviews. I have sat face-to-face with convicted murderers, serial killers on death row, suspects, victims’ families, survivors, law enforcement, media, and more. I also accumulated hundreds of sources. I’ve been on the receiving end of death threats, threatened with loaded guns, and have even physically dug for human remains.
WRITE “W RI T E FFROM ROM TTHE HE GUTS.” G UTS
WHY DID YOU BECOME A WRITER? I was kicking dope in rehab. My counselor suggested I try writing, and so I did. It became my new addiction and I just haven’t stopped since.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING WRITERS? The heart is misleading and the brain is fragile, ergo, write from the guts.
THIS IS A STORY THAT HAS GARNERED MANY THEORIES over the years, including that it was a drug-related crime, the killings were random, or that it involved police negligence and/or corruption. Why do you think these murders occurred?
2)
IT IS EVIDENT that the Bibles and the Freemans have handled the case differently over the years; while the Bibles have spent decades trying to keep their story in the spotlight, the Freemans have preferred to keep to themselves. Why do you think that is? Do you think there is only one way to deal with a tragedy such as this?
3)
MANY PEOPLE IN AMERICA HAVE NEVER HEARD of towns like Picher and other lead-mining areas. Some believe the collapse of these industries made way for poverty and/or drug use—do you agree? Is it possible that any other factors contributed to methamphetamine addiction seen in the area?
4)
IT’S BEEN POSED THAT THE POLICE on this case were negligent, corrupt, or in over their heads. Do you agree? Is a different way things could have been handled?
5)
DO YOU THINK SHANE FREEMAN’S UNTIMELY DEATH contributed to the deaths of his parents and sister less than a year later?
6)
WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN NO ARRESTS resulting the early interrogations involving criminals related to the methamphetamine business (i.e. the searches of Wyandotte, Jeremy Jones), do you think there could be more people involved in the Freeman murders and the abduction of Lauria and Ashley?
7)
LORENE BIBLE IS DEPICTED AS THE CRUSADER of this story. What do you think of Lorene? Is there something you’d have done differently if you were in her shoes?
8)
PRIOR TO RONNIE BUSICK’S 2018 ARREST, did you have a prime suspect in mind?
9)
TODAY, BUSICK SITS IN JAIL. Do you think he’ll be convicted? Why or why not?
10)
WELCH, OKLAHOMA, SITS RIGHT NEAR THE BORDERS of Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. Do you think such a location might present jurisdictional problems in the continued efforts to find Lauria and Ashley?
11)
THERE ARE MANY RUMORS concerning Shane’s death. Do you think Deputy David Hayes was justified in his decision? Do you believe the Freeman’s assertions that it was a wrongful death? Could it have been a “suicide by cop” on Shane’s part?
12)
WHERE DO YOU THINK LAURIA AND ASHLEY ARE TODAY? Could they be alive? Do you think they’ll be found?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1)
YOU CAN FOLLOW THE CASE ON FACEBOOK AT
FIND LAURIA BIBLE which is run by the Bible family and contains photos, information, and more. Tips are always welcome.
TIPS AND INFORMATION can also be submitted to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation:
1-800-522-8017 OR DONATIONS TO THE
LAURIA AND ASHLEY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM dedicated to local scholarships at the girls’ respective schools, are welcome on GoFundMe.
TIPS@OSBI.OK.GOV THERE IS A
$50,000 REWARD in place.
For more information on missing children and how to help, please visit the website for
THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN AT
MISSINGKIDS.ORG
JAX MILLER
is an American author. While hitchhiking across America in her twenties, she wrote her first novel, Freedom’s Child, for which she won the 2016 Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle and earned several CWA Dagger nominations. She has received acclaim from The New York Times, NPR, Entertainment Weekly, and many more. She now works in the true-crime genre, having penned her much-anticipated book and acting as creator, host, and executive producer on the true-crime documentary series Hell in the Heartland on CNN’s HLN network. Jax is a lover of film and music, and has a passion for rock ‘n’ roll and writing screenplays. @RealJaxMiller
Author photograph by Lidewy Vandermark Photography