Court records reveal what led to arrests in disappearance of two missing moms
TEXAS COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – Court records have detailed what happened to two Kansas mothers who vanished in rural Texas County. Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley went missing March 30, 2024. The car they were riding in was found abandoned in the Oklahoma panhandle. Four people were arrested Saturday in the case, including Tifany Adams who is the grandmother of Butler’s two children.
Court documents confirmed a “problematic custody battle” as the focus behind the murder case.
“You have two people who are dead and four people who committed an absolutely brutal crime,” said Hunter McKee, spokesperson for OSBI.
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According to an affidavit filed Monday, Bulter was on her way to a supervised visit with her two children when she and Kelley went missing. Kelley was a court appointed supervisor for the visitation. Family got concerned with the two did not return home and went looking for them. They found Butler’s car on Highway 95 and Road L, south of Elkhart, Kansas.
“When they (deputies) arrived on scene they found some things that just weren’t adding up,” said Matt Boley, sheriff of Texas County.
According to court records, deputies found blood beside the car and Butler’s glasses in the middle of the road, next to a broken hammer. A pistol magazine was found inside Kelley’s purse at the scene, but no gun was found.
The discovery sparked an extensive search by law enforcement from across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and southwest Kansas.
“It took everybody in this case to get this done,” said McKee. “We know there were people who were frustrated and wanted answers as soon as possible. We wanted answers too.”
Grandmother to missing mother’s kids in custody, along with her boyfriend
The investigation pointed to Adams, her boyfriend Tad Cullum, and Cole and Cora Twombly. All four were arrested Saturday and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. Agencies surrounded homes Saturday and arrested all four without incident. The children at the home were also found safe.
Law enforcement spent two weeks investigating, interviewing family, friends, and witnesses, and reviewing tips sent into agencies.
“We’re probably talking somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 law enforcement officers. Truly no exaggeration, working day and night for 15 days,” said George Leach III, District 1 District Attorney.
Court documents revealed the attack was planned. It also stated all four were part of an anti-government, religious group called “God’s Misfits.”
Records showed Cora Twombly’s teenage daughter was interviewed and she told investigators the Twombly’s would be gone on Saturday, March 30th – the same day the women went missing – for a “mission.”
It also showed in the weeks before the disappearance, Adams purchased burner phones and stun guns. The burner phones pinged close to private property in Texas County where investigators said they found “fresh dirt work.” The affidavit showed the suspects dug a hole, filled it back in, and covered it with hay. It was likely the spot where the two bodies were uncovered, however OSBI would not confirm.
Court documents also revealed this was not the first time Adams and the rest of the group attempted to kill Butler. Back in February, 2024, the four suspects traveled to Butler’s home in Kansas and waited for her to come outside. The plan was to throw an anvil out the back of their truck and into Butler’s windshield to “make it look like an accident because anvils regularly fall off of work vehicles.” The affidavit went on to say Butler never left her home and the plan was scrapped.
The OSBI said it was still waiting on the Oklahoma Medical Examiner to determine the official identification of the two bodies found Sunday and the exact cause of death.
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