Burton Speakman
BOWLING GREEN — The case of two Barren County men accused of murder continues to move towards a trial, while both sides acknowledge they are working toward a resolution.
There was a hearing Friday in Warren Circuit Court in the case of Lonnie Freeman, 40, of Etoile, and Dustin Asher, 32, of Glasgow. Both men are charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in the July 2005 deaths of Daniel Froedge, 38, of Park City and Kelly O. Johnson, 32, of Smiths Grove. Froedge’s and Johnson’s burned bodies where found on July 28, 2005, inside a truck on a gravel road near Scottsville.
Asher and Freeman were initially tried on these charges in Oct. 2006 in Allen Circuit Court and the case ended in a hung jury. The retrial was moved to Warren County due to publicity surrounding the initial trial.
On March 7, there is a motion hearing scheduled in this case to consider an expert witness, polygraph evidence and a defense motion to dismiss the case, said Clint Willis, commonwealth’s attorney for Allen County.
Steve Romines, who is representing Freeman, and Pat Renn, who is representing Asher, stated during the hearing that have had discussions about resolving this case. Romines and Renn both did not attend the hearing in person, but were part of a teleconference.
The trial in this case remains scheduled for March 17.
There could be an issue with the March 7 hearing date, Willis said. Freeman is also facing a charge of unlawful possession of a methamphetamine precursor and being a persistent felony offender in Barren Circuit Court.
Assistant Common-wealth’s Attorney Kathryn Thomas is planning to try that case in the first or second week of March, Willis said.
“If that happens we’ll just have to deal with it,” he said.
The result of the Barren County case is the last point of dispute stopping a resolution in this case, Romines said.
“My understanding is if the Freeman case is resolved then our case is resolved,” Renn said referring to Asher.
Freeman’s next hearing in Barren Circuit Court is scheduled for Feb. 9., according to court records.
Freeman was sentenced Jan. 9 in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green to seven years in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle. There is no parole in federal court.
The murder case had been delayed multiple times because the U.S. Attorney's Office in Louisville would not allow Freeman to attend state court hearings until his federal charges had been finalized.
After the final sentencing Freeman should now be able to attend all hearings in both cases, Willis said.
