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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Bodies of 2 women killed in Oklahoma were buried on land leased by 1 of
the 4 suspects, court documents say
By Rosa Flores, Sara Weisfeldt, Eric Levenson and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN
Updated:
6:02 AM EDT, Thu April 18, 2024
Source: CNN
The bodies of two women who were were buried in a cattle pasture leased
by one of the four suspects – all of whom are accused of plotting the
victims’ deaths amid a bitter custody battle, according to court
documents.
The location of the bodies of Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley,
39, is among several new details included in court filings by
prosecutors arguing that the suspects should be denied bail – a
request that was granted by a judge Wednesday.
The suspects – Tifany Machel Adams, 54, Tad Bert Cullum, 43, and
married couple Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Gayle Twombly, 44 –
each face murder, kidnapping and conspiracy charges after the two women
went missing on a drive between Kansas and Oklahoma and were ,
according to authorities.
All four suspects were assigned court-appointed attorneys with the ,
and the agency’s policy is not to speak to the press regarding
pending cases, according to Charles Laughlin, the agency’s executive
director.
The documents allege Adams and her significant other, Cullum, engaged
in a killing plot with the Twomblys that was motivated by a custody
battle between Butler and Adams, who is the grandmother of Butler’s
two children. The group is also accused of unsuccessfully attempting to
kill Butler in February, the documents state.
Adams allegedly gave statements to investigators after her arrest
“indicating she was responsible for the deaths of Butler and
Kelley,” according to the affidavit.
The custody arrangement, which required Butler’s visitation with her
children every Saturday to be supervised, was potentially about to take
a turn in Butler’s favor as her attorney informed investigators she
was likely to get unsupervised visitation during an upcoming hearing,
according to the affidavit.
“Adams vehemently opposed this and went to great lengths to plan and
purchase items used in Butler and Kelley’s murders,” the affidavit
stated. “Adams, Cullum, Cole and Cora were willing to kidnap and
murder two victims to limit visitation for Butler.”
Butler and Kelley went missing on March 30 as they were driving
together from Hugoton, Kansas, to Four Corners, Oklahoma, for
Butler’s supervised visit with her children, according to the
affidavit.
Their vehicle was found abandoned near a highway in Texas County,
where investigators found a bloody scene scattered with “evidence of
a severe injury,” probable cause documents state.
Investigators determined Adams purchased three burner phones – all of
which had pinged near where Butler’s car was found and at the last
known location of the women before their disappearance, according to
the affidavit.
Cell phone data from two of the burner phones led authorities to a
pasture property rented by Cullum, where a hole had been dug and filled
back in, the affidavit states.
The disturbed dirt was excavated and two bodies – later identified as
Butler and Kelley – were discovered, the affidavit said. The site was
about 8.5 miles from where the abandoned car was found, it noted.
“The state of the bodies indicated they died as a result of foul
play,” the affidavits stated. No further details about the condition
of the bodies were provided.
A stun gun was also found near the site, according to the affidavit.
In their arguments to deny the suspects bail, prosecutors said the
killings were “complex and involved extensive preparation,”
according to the court motion. Prosecutors also noted that some of the
suspects had “resources to flee if given the opportunity” and
“pose grave danger to witnesses community members.”
Outside court on Wednesday, Butler’s younger siblings held back tears
as they described the “beautiful soul” that was taken from them too
soon.
“She’s just like a sunflower, just like a beautiful sunflower
looking in the sun,” said Junia Butler, Veronica Butler’s younger
sister, to . “She’s amazing, an amazing mom.”
Investigators say they found evidence of ‘severe injury’
Butler’s visitation with her two children every Saturday had to be
supervised, and Butler planned to have Kelley supervise the visit,
according to the probable cause documents.
On March 30, Butler and Kelley were scheduled to pick up the children
from Adams at about 10 a.m. and attend a birthday party, but they never
made it to the event, according to the documents.
Butler’s family then located her abandoned vehicle in a rural area
of Texas County and called police, the documents show.
“An examination of the vehicle and area surrounding the vehicle found
evidence of a severe injury. Blood was found on the roadway and edge of
the roadway. Butler’s glasses were found in the roadway south of the
vehicle, near a broken hammer. A pistol magazine was found inside
Kelley’s purse at the scene, but no pistol was found,” the
probable cause documents state.
Butler’s and Kelley’s phones were actively sending signals to their
carriers until about 9:42 a.m. and then stopped transmitting, the
probable cause documents state. The phones have not been recovered,
according to the documents.
State investigators extracted information from Adams’ phone that
showed web searches for “taser pain level, gun shops, prepaid
cellular phones and how to get someone out of their house,” the
probable cause documents show. Adams also purchased five stun guns in
the months and days leading to the women’s disappearances, according
to the documents.
All four defendants are described as being part of “an
anti-government group that had a religious affiliation,” according
to statements made to investigators by Cora Gayle Twombly’s teenage
daughter and recorded in the probable cause documents. The Oklahoma
State Bureau of Investigation later learned the group went by the name
“God’s Misfits” and they met weekly, sometimes at the
Twomblys’ residence, the probable cause documents state.
The FBI Oklahoma City field office said it is assisting in the
investigation with a “dedicated team of agents, analysts, task force
officers, evidence response personnel and tactical” teams.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled the
name of Veronica Butler’s younger sister, Junia Butler.
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