Tuesday, April 20, 1999
20-year term not enough to satisfy slain woman's family
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON — As they watched Larry Ray Freeman get 20 years in prison Monday, relatives of Diane Washer said he deserved life behind bars.
First, Mrs. Washer's family spent three years not knowing their loved one's whereabouts, and then, once Mr. Freeman, 27, of Union, confessed to a role in her death, they watched him plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter instead of murder.
“If we had our way, you would serve life in prison,” Mrs. Washer's daughter, Lisa Baynum, told Mr. Freeman, standing near him in Boone Circuit Court. “You've taken something from us that can never be replaced. (But) 20 years will have to do.”
Mr. Freeman appeared emotionless throughout comments made by Ms. Baynum and her family, and didn't offer any response or words of remorse.
“Diane Washer died at your hands,” Boone Circuit Judge Jay Bamberger said. “She lost all joy and all hope. Her family's holidays will never be the same.”
Mr. Freeman pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter last month. He has confessed to running into Mrs. Washer at a Covington bar on the night of July 20, 1994, before the two bought a case of beer and drove into rural Boone County in his car.
He said they were both drinking, smoking pot and taking pills before he crashed the car and Mrs. Washer flew out the passenger door. He then secretly buried her under a pile of rocks near the top of Big Jimmy Hill, east of Rabbit Hash.
Three years later, 17 bones were found at the base of the hill. A year after that, in 1998, they were identified as Mrs. Washer's. The family has learned that she died from a blow to the head.
They think Mr. Freeman committed murder that night, beating Mrs. Washer until she died. But the lead investigator, Deputy Todd Kenner of the Boone County Sheriff's Department, has said that there is no evidence to prove it and that he believes Mr. Freeman's story.
At Monday's sentencing, Ms. Baynum called Mr. Freeman inhumane for burying her mother under a pile of rocks. She was in tears when she asked for “an eye for an eye” style of justice. She said his actions made her realize “how
many sick, cruel, heartless people are out there.”
Her aunts and grandmother also attested to their grief and anger. “I'll never hold (Diane) again, and it hurts,” said June Lockard, Mrs. Washer's mother.
After the sentencing, Mrs. Washer's relatives hugged. They gave credit to Deputy Kenner and Emily Craig, the Kentucky forensic anthropologist who identified Mrs. Washer's bones.
Mrs. Lockard acknowledged that the sentencing provided some closure for the family. “I'm glad this is over with,” Mrs. Lockard said. “I just think about my daughter. Sometimes it gets hard, missing her. (But) we're relieved.”
Mrs. Washer's remains are at the medical examiner's office. Deputy Kenner said they will be returned to Mrs. Washer's family within a month.
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