LAKE CITY, Fla. – The father and siblings of a 16-year-old Nassau County boy whose remains were found outside a Lake City dumpster in 1994 said they are still reeling from the “intense emotions” surrounding the arrest Tuesday of a former youth pastor, who police say killed the teen 23 years ago.
Fred Paul Laster's family released a statement Wednesday through the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, which spent more than two decades investigating the case after Laster's dismembered remains were found.
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“We, the immediate family of Fred Paul Laster, have gathered together at this time to support each other as we experience the intense emotions caused by the heartbreaking loss of 'Freddy' and the arrest of his killer.
We appreciate the thoughts and prayers of the community, and wish to thank our law enforcement personnel and support agencies for their diligence and perseverance in this case.
Although some extended family has chosen to make statements to the media, we, his father and siblings, decline to be interviewed at this time. We request privacy as we grieve and focus on laying Freddy to rest. Thank you for your understanding.”
Ronnie Leon Hyde, 60, was arrested Tuesday at his Jacksonville Beach home on a murder charge in Laster's death.
Hyde became a suspect after Laster's family said that the last time Fred was heard from, he was with Hyde, the man he knew as his pastor.
According to investigators, DNA taken from Hyde's trash last year matched DNA found on a flannel shirt that had been left in the dumpster with Laster's remains.
Family concerned about suspect for years
Hyde met the Laster family sometime in the 1980s, according to his arrest affidavit. Fred's sister told investigators that Hyde was a youth pastor at Strength for Living Church, which the family attended, and that he lived in a bus behind the church at the time.
She also said that she and one of her siblings stayed the night with Hyde at his Jacksonville Beach home in 1993 and she woke up to find Hyde nude, trying to wake someone up, the court document said.
Investigators wrote that on the day the Fred Laster was last seen, he was at his sister's apartment in Jacksonville and he was upset, trying to get her to go away with him. When she said no, he told her that Ronnie Hyde was coming to pick him up, according to investigators.
Later when they last spoke over the phone, Fred Laster said he was with Hyde, the report said. Fred Laster's sister said her brother "sounded distant, emotional," so much so that she asked him if he was OK, according to the arrest affidavit.
The I-TEAM has also confirmed that a brother of Fred Laster lived at Hyde's Jacksonville Beach home in 2002, nearly eight years after the teen was murdered.
One of the siblings also told police that Hyde "always wanted to take up his time with young male boys with problems," the report said.
Two of Laster's cousins -- Samuel Laster and Lorrie Woodard -- told News4Jax that they had long suspected Hyde to be involved.
"We thought all along he was the person. Through the siblings, talking to them and information we found out, it all matches. The state attorney, I think they got all they need to prove the case," Samuel Laster said. "It seems like he preyed on these kids. It was easy bait because my aunt had passed, my uncle wasn’t around and Ron preyed on their grandmother. And I think he took advantage of her by seeing an opportunity to manipulate these children through a church event or whatever it was.”
Woodard -- who spotted a cold case poster online that led Laster's siblings to contact Columbia County investigators -- said suspicions about Hyde grew stronger after a conversation she had with other relatives about a phone call just before to her cousin's disappearance.
“They told me he called at 5 a.m. and they asked him if he was with Ron, and he said yes. They said, 'Do you want me to come and get you?' and he said no. He said, 'I just called to tell Pumpkin that I love her,'" Woodard said.
Family members said another red flag arose last April when they started searching Hyde's Facebook page, finding a post that reads, in part: "I had a dream this morning two of my dear friends returned from the dead."
Samuel Laster said he believes that one of the friends that he was referring to was Fred Laster.
“Why would you make a statement about two people coming back to life? I don’t know if there is any match to that but it is certainly kind of odd," Samuel Laster said.
The cousins said Hyde's arrest provides closures after more than two decades of suffering.
“It’s like a dream because it’s been going on for 23 years. I’m kind of happy in a way, but it’s kind of like a bittersweet situation," Woodard said.