God’s Misfits murder suspect tells victims’ families ‘sorry for your loss’ as he enters court

The fifth suspect in the God’s Misfits murder case, which saw the killing of two mothers in Oklahoma, said he would tell their families he was “sorry” for their loss, as he was walked into court Wednesday morning.

Paul Grice, 31, was arrested last week on kidnapping and murder charges that match those of his four alleged co-conspirators in the deaths of Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, in rural Texas County.

Walking into the Texas County Courthouse, Mr Grice was asked if he had anything to say to the victims’ grieving families.

“Sorry for their loss,” he said, after a slight shake of his head.

The words are the first that have been heard from any of the suspects on the case, which include Tifany Machel Adams, 54; Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Cole Earl Twombly, 50; and Cora Twombly, 44.

All are accused of luring Butler and Kelley to a rural crossroads before kidnapping and murdering them on 30 March.

That morning, Butler thought she was going to pick up her children, aged six and eight, from their paternal grandmother, Ms Adams, for her usual supervised visit.

According to court documents obtained by The Independent, the pair had been involved in a years-long, “problematic” custody battle over the children, whose father, Wrangler Rickman is Ms Adams’ son.

Rickman had allegedly told his grandmother in February “that they didn’t have to worry about the custody battle much longer, because Adams had it under control” and would “take out” Butler during a drop-off of the children, arrest documents said.

Mr Rickman denied having this conversation when questioned later, documents showed.

Ms Adams, Mr Cullum, Mr Grice and the Twomblys, who called themselves “God’s Misfits” according to court documents, allegedly plotted to kill Butler for at least a month, even staking out her home in Hugoton, Kansas, just across the border from Oklahoma.

On the day the two women disappeared, Ms Adams had allegedly told Butler’s usual supervisor to take a couple of weeks off, while telling the mother that the supervisor was unavailable and she needed to bring someone else to accompany her.

That person was Kelley, a preacher’s wife from the same Kansas town.

The pair were reportedly ambushed on the rural Highway 95, with their abandoned car found at the intersection with Road L by Butler’s relatives after she failed to show up to a party with the children.

Blood was on the road, along with Butler’s glasses and a broken hammer, while a pistol magazine was discovered inside Kelley’s purse. There was no sign of a firearm.

The search for the two women began, with investigators calling their disappearance “suspicious” and attention soon turned to the few people living in the area – the suspects now sitting in jail.

Investigators spoke to Cora Twombly’s teenage daughter, known as CW in documents, not long after the women vanished.

She told them that the group was “anti-government” and met frequently at her home, as well as at another couple’s house - Barrett and Lacey Cook, who have not been named as suspects, but were caring for the children on 30 March.

CW also stated her parents had told her they were going on a “mission” that day, later explaining that things had not gone quite to plan. The teen asked her mother why Kelley had to die, too, with Cora replying that she wasn’t innocent because she had supported Ms Butler.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) later found that Ms Adams had bought five stun guns ahead of 30 March, along with three “burner phones” which had sent signals from the disappearance site and the apparent burial site of the two bodies.

Her phone search history allegedly showed she had looked for “taser pain level, gun shops, prepaid cellular phones and how to get someone out of their house”.

Investigators obtained warrants to arrest the first four suspects on 13 April, with Mr Grice mentioned repeatedly in their arrest documents but not mentioned as a suspect by the OSBI. The two women’s bodies were found the next day.

Mr Grice was eventually taken into custody on 24 April and documents showed he admitted to his part in the murders as well as their “subsequent burial”.

Mr Grice’s family has reportedly left the area following his arrest, having not known about his involvement in the case.

Entering court on Wednesday, he was also asked if he had anything to say to them.

“I miss them, I love them,” he said as he walked into the courthouse. He’ll next appear on 15 May, along with the other suspects.

Butler and Kelley’s causes of death are yet to be officially revealed, but it is believed they were not shot.