Court documents reveal cause of death of two Kansas mothers whose bodies were recovered After the disappearance On a road trip to Oklahoma to pick up my kids.
In April, the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner’s Office identified the two Texas County victims as Jillian Kelley, 39, and Veronica Butler, 27.
Butler and Kelly were last seen picking up their children on March 30, after which their car was found abandoned near the Oklahoma-Kansas borderPolice said foul play is suspected.
According to court documents, Received by KSNWThe documents state that an accused named Paul Grice stabbed Butler to death, while Tad Cullum allegedly killed Kelly. The documents state that Grice badly cut his hand while killing Butler.
Fifth arrest made in connection with murders of Kansas mothers who disappeared without a trace
Tim Singer, pastor of the Hugoton Assembly of God, told Fox News that Jillian Kelly (left) and Veronica Butler (right) were on their way to pick up the Butler children on Saturday to bring them back from a birthday party in Hugoton, Kansas. (Texas County Sheriff’s Office/Oklahoma Highway Patrol/Shutterstock)
The bodies of both women were found inside a chest freezer in a cow pasture.
The document alleges that Grice dumped the clothing he was wearing when Butler was killed, a tranquilizing device and the murder weapon into the grave, KSNW reports. It also states that DNA recovered from the clothing contained DNA from both Grice and Butler.
Cullum allegedly threw their clothes in the freezer with the women’s bodies, which allegedly had Kelly’s and his DNA on it. Investigators found that accessories for the knife were found in Cullum’s home.
Suspect accused of the murders of Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelly. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation – Official Page/Facebook)
Tiffany Machel Adams, 54, Women arrestedShe is reportedly the grandmother of Butler’s children. Court records showed that Adams was involved in a custody dispute with Butler’s children. The children’s father is in a rehabilitation facility.
Adams, her boyfriend Cullum, and married couple Cole and Cora Twombly have been charged with two counts each of first-degree murder, Butler and visitation supervisor Kelly, a 38-year-old pastor’s wife and mother, have been charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the killing.
Paul Grice was arrested and booked into the Texas County Jail on two counts of first degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit first degree murder in connection to the murders of Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelley. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)
The document also alleges that Twombly conducted surveillance on the day of the murders and talked to his 16-year-old daughter about it, hoping she would give them an alibi, KSNW reports. It claims that Adams purchased burner phones, stun devices, yellow straps found around the freezer and even the pants Cullum wore and buried with the victims.
After interviews with Twombly’s daughter and reviewing data from Adams’ phone and three burner phones, investigators found the women’s bodies on April 14. The 16-year-old girl said her parents told her they “would never have to worry about (Butler) again” and that the two may have been dumped in a well, according to previous court documents.
Cora allegedly told the 16-year-old that the group’s plan was initially to “throw an anvil into Butler’s windshield while he was driving to make it look like an accident since anvils often fall off work vehicles.”
(The bodies of both women were found inside a chest freezer.)
Previous court documents revealed that Adams searched for “Taser pain level” and other phrases that allude to the horrific deaths of women during child custody battles.
According to Fox News Digital, the four men were associated with the religiously affiliated anti-government group “God’s Misfits.” Previously reported,
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Investigators say their motive was to gain custody of Butler’s two children. Adams’ son, Wrangler Rickman, had custody of the children, but when the women disappeared, it was confirmed he was in a rehab center in Oklahoma. According to court documents, Butler was allowed supervised visits with her children every Saturday and was expected to be granted unsupervised visits during an upcoming hearing.
The state argues that all of the defendants should face preliminary hearings together, rather than separately, because it alleges all five conspired and participated in the murders of Butler and Kelley.
Fox News Digital’s Christina Coulter contributed to this report.
