Affidavits from the suspects accused of murdering two Kansas mothers last month revealed the bizarre circumstances of the tragedy, including claims that the quartet were part of an anti-government group that had previously planned a murder.
The murdered women were Butler, a 27-year-old who was embroiled in an ugly custody battle with her ex and his mother, and Jillian Kelley, the 38-year-old wife of a preacher who volunteered to supervise a visit between Butler and their children on March 30.
Butler and Kelley, however, never made it to that visit. They disappeared after crossing the Kansas border into the rural Oklahoma Panhandle and were never seen alive again. Their vehicle, which belonged to Butler, was found on a dirt road hundreds of yards from a highway.
Authorities believe foul play was involved in their disappearance, and an investigation last week concluded the women were murdered and their bodies dumped. Police sources reported NewsNation The women may have been executed and pools of blood were seen near their vehicle.
Tifany Adams – the grandmother and guardian of Butler’s children – was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with Saturday’s crime. Her boyfriend, Tad Bert Cullum, and two of her friends, Cora and Cole Earl Twombly, were arrested on the same charges.
Jilian Kelley, 39, traveled to Oklahoma to oversee a meeting between Veronica Butler and her children.
GoFundMe
In a probable cause affidavit for Adams obtained by The Daily Beast, prosecutors allege that all four suspects were members of an anti-government group called “God’s Misfits” that met weekly.
Despite the religious invocation, the document suggests the group had violent tendencies – particularly toward Butler. They allegedly planned to kill her outside her Kansas home in February, but that never happened because she never came out.
The affidavit states that police interviewed Cora and Cole Twombly’s 16-year-old daughter, who claimed that her parents had suggested in a conversation that they had killed the Kansas mothers.
The teenager, identified only as “CW,” said her parents told her on March 29 that they would be missing the next morning because they were going on a “mission.” When she woke up the next day, they were gone, but she told police they later returned on March 30 and said something had gone wrong.
The document states that the teenager described in detail how her parents, along with Adams and Cullum, attempted to divert Butler and Kelley’s vehicle from the driveway of Adams’ house.
“CW asked Cora what happened and was told that things did not go as planned, but that they did not have to worry about her (Butler) anymore,” the affidavit states.
The affidavit states that CW “asked about Kelley and why she had to die,” to which her parents responded that “she was not innocent either” because she supported Butler.
Grandmother and three others arrested for murder of missing mothers in Kansas
CW reportedly told investigators that her parents planned to throw an anvil into Butler’s windshield – since they regularly fall off work vehicles – and hoped to fake her death as the result of a car accident. It has not been said whether or not this plan was actually attempted.
When CW asked her mother if the bodies had been placed in a well, Cora Twombly replied, “Something like that,” according to the affidavit.
The group’s anger at Butler seemed to stem from her attempts to regain custody of her children. Just ten days before the women disappeared, Butler had filed a court motion that would result in the children being taken away from Adams if a judge sided with her.
Wrangler Rickman, Butler’s ex and father of her two children, had custody of the children, but he himself reportedly did not see them often. The affidavit states that Adams and Cullum kept him away from them.
The affidavit states that Rickman’s grandmother told investigators that her grandson said earlier this year that there was a plot to kill Butler. She claimed her grandson told her they didn’t have to worry about the custody battle much longer because “Adams had everything under control” and they planned to “take Veronica out as soon as she was handed over,” the affidavit states.
The investigation also uncovered web searches by Adams seeking information on the pain level of Tasers, gun deals, prepaid cell phones and how to lure someone out of their house, the latter of which allegedly yielded answers when a phone belonging to Adams was pinged near Butler’s home in Hugoton, Kansas.
Veronica Butler, 27, was in the midst of a bitter custody battle at the time of her murder, authorities said.
GoFundMe
The affidavit further states that before the murders, the suspects purchased disposable cell phones that were found near the crime scene, as well as stun guns that may have been used to subdue Butler and Kelley.
Authorities said in a press conference on Monday that they had not yet confirmed whether or not the two bodies found over the weekend belonged to Butler and Kelley, but added that there was “no” chance that the two were still alive. Authorities did not disclose where exactly the bodies were found.
The suspects must appear in court for the first time on Wednesday.
The GoFundMe fundraisers for Butler and Kelley have not yet gained much traction, although the two have raised about $5,000 combined.
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