Fifth arrest made in connection to murdered Kansas moms
TEXAS COUNTY, Okla. (KSNW) — A fifth person has been arrested in connection to the murders of Kansas moms Jilian Kelley and Veronica Butler.
According to the Oklahoma state court records, an arrest warrant was issued on Wednesday, April 24, for Paul Grice, 31, on suspicion of two counts of murder in the first degree, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree.
During an interview, Grice admitted that he was a part of the planning, killing and subsequential burial of Butler and Kelley, according to the probable cause affidavit for his arrest warrant.
Court documents reveal suspect admitted responsibility for death of missing Kansas women
Grice was mentioned several times in other affidavits related to the case, which also state Grice was a member of “God’s Misfits,” an anti-government group with a religious affiliation.
Grice was allegedly involved in other attempts to kill Butler, the affidavit states. One attempt was reportedly in February when Grice, along with Tifany Adams, Tad Cullum, and Cole and Cora Twombly, went to Hugoton to get Butler to leave her house, but she never did. The plan was to make her death look like an accident by throwing an anvil through Butler’s windshield while she was driving “because anvils regularly fall off of work trucks.”
The affidavit of probable cause for an arrest warrant for Grice revealed he had a cell phone conversation with Cullum and Adams prior to the disappearance of Butler and Kelley on Saturday, March 30. After their disappearance, Grice was at his home with Cullum.
4 charged with murder and kidnapping of Kansas women in Oklahoma
Adams, Cullum, and the Twomblys were charged with kidnapping and murder in the deaths of Butler and Kelley earlier this month after the women’s bodies were found in rural Texas County. Court documents released last week say both women died of foul play but did not provide any additional details.
The punishment for first-degree murder in Oklahoma can be death, life in prison or life without parole.
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