On Monday, authorities released arrest affidavits detailing a complex scheme allegedly devised by a grandmother and three accomplices to murder the mother of her grandchildren and another woman who was present at the time. The plot involved 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley, who left southern Kansas on the morning of March 30 to travel to Texas County, Oklahoma. They were on their way to pick up Butler’s children for a birthday party, as part of a court-ordered visitation arrangement. Kelley was stepping in as a supervisor for the visit, a role she took on after the regular supervisor was unavailable. However, the duo never reached their destination.
Butler’s family found her vehicle abandoned along Highway 95 and Road L in Texas County, near the Kansas border, shortly after noon on March 30. The vehicle showed signs of a violent struggle, with blood found around it. Butler’s sunglasses, a broken hammer, and a pistol magazine without a pistol were also discovered in Kelley’s purse.
Investigators from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation quickly discovered that Butler was embroiled in a contentious custody battle with Tifany Adams, the 54-year-old paternal grandmother of her children. Adams’ son, the father of the children, had full custody, but Adams often cared for them.
Texas County Sheriff Matt Boley stated at a press conference that the crime seemed targeted rather than random. Adams claimed to have spoken with Butler on the morning of her disappearance, stating that Butler had changed her plans and would not be picking up the children. However, investigators determined this to be false, as they knew Butler and Kelley were on their way to collect the children.
Further investigation revealed that a judge was about to grant extended visitation rights to Butler, a development that reportedly did not sit well with Adams. Recordings were found of Adams and her boyfriend, 43-year-old Tad Bert Cullum, allegedly making death threats towards Butler. Adams is also accused of telling family members that she had the custody situation “under control” and knew “the path the judge walked to work.”
A search of Adams’ phone revealed searches for “taser pain level, gun shops, prepaid cellular phones and how to get someone out of their house.” Investigators also found that she had purchased five Tasers and prepaid cellphones.
On April 3, detectives interviewed a teenage relative of 44-year-old Cora Twombly and her 50-year-old husband Cole Earl Twombly, who were friends with Adams. The teenager revealed that the Twomblys, Adams, Cullum, and another yet-to-be-arrested man were involved in the murders. The group, who referred to themselves as “God’s Misfits,” allegedly used burner phones provided by Adams to communicate.
The Twomblys reportedly told the teenager that they were going on a “mission” on the day of the murders. They returned home around noon on March 30, telling the teenager that “things did not go as planned, but that they would not have to worry” about Butler again.
The teenager also shared that the Twomblys had planned to block the road and throw an anvil through Butler’s windshield to divert them to where Adams, Cullum, and the unnamed man were waiting. They allegedly wanted to make it look like an accident. When asked why Kelley had to die, Cora Twombly allegedly responded that Kelley “wasn’t innocent” because she “had supported Butler.”
Data from the burner phones placed the suspects at the location where Butler and Kelley disappeared. The phones then tracked to another area of rural Texas County, where a freshly dug hole was found near a dam. The bodies were discovered on Sunday and taken to the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner’s Office for identification and to determine the cause and manner of death.
Adams, Cullum, and the Twomblys were arrested on Saturday. They are all facing two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree.