Current:Home > InvestThe bodies of two Kansas women who disappeared in Oklahoma were found in a buried freezer -NextFrontier Finance
The bodies of two Kansas women who disappeared in Oklahoma were found in a buried freezer
View
Date:2025-04-19 19:11:05
The bodies of two Kansas women who disappeared in Oklahoma were found in a buried freezer, according to recently unsealed court documents.
The bodies of Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, both of Hugoton, Kansas, were found April 14 buried on land in rural Texas County and rented by Tad Cullum, who is among five people charged with kidnapping and killing the two women, according to the documents unsealed March 15.
Also found on the land, which Cullum rented for cattle grazing, were articles of clothing, duct tape and a knife, each “with possible blood on them,” in addition to black tape, electrical cord and a combination stun gun/flashlight, according to the documents.
Cullum, 43, his girlfriend Tifany Adams, 54, both of Keyes, Oklahoma; husband and wife Cole Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, of Texhoma, Oklahoma; and Paul Grice, 31, are each charged with two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping and a single count of conspiracy to commit murder.
All are being held without bail and a gag order in the case prohibits attorneys from commenting on the case.
Investigators have said Butler and Adams were in a bitter child dispute over custody of Butler’s children, who are Adams’ grandchildren.
Butler’s attorney told investigators that Butler was likely to be granted unsupervised visitation during a hearing scheduled just more than two weeks after the two disappeared, the documents state.
Butler and Kelley, who was to supervise a visitation with Butler and her children, disappeared March 30 while driving to pick up Butler’s two children from Adams for a birthday party.
The women’s car was found near the rural highway intersection about 260 miles (418 kilometers) from where Butler was to pick up her son and daughter. Butler’s glasses were found near the car and blood was found on the roadway, according to an arrest affidavit.
The buried freezer with the bodies inside was found about 8.5 miles (14 kilometers) from where the car was found and in the area where prepaid cell phones purchased by Adams were traced, according to the court documents.
A witness also told an investigator the Grice had asked him shortly after the bodies were found how long it would take the state lab to process DNA evidence, how long DNA would tast in dirt, how long DNA would last on clothing in dirt in a 15 feet deep hole and if he knew how to get a “guy and his family” into Mexico, according to documents.
The witness told the investigator that Grice said he was concerned about his DNA being in the hole where the bodies were found “because he had been to the Twombly residence.”
Another witness told Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents that all five suspects were part of “an anti-government group that had a religious affiliation” known as “God’s Misfits” according to an affidavit.
veryGood! (4334)
Related
- $1 Frostys: Wendy's celebrates end of summer with sweet deal
- U.S. terrorist watchlist grows to 2 million people — nearly doubling in 6 years
- Vanderpump Villa: Meet the Staff of Lisa Vanderpump's New Reality Show
- Charles McGonigal, ex-FBI official, sentenced to 50 months for working with Russian oligarch
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- More nature emojis could be better for biodiversity
- The Excerpt podcast: House Republicans authorize Biden impeachment investigation
- 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' final season, premiere date announced by HBO
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Belgian tourist dies in an animal attack at Mexico’s Pacific coast resort of Zihuatanejo
Ranking
- Carolinas bracing for second landfall from Tropical Storm Debby: Live updates
- Why Drake and Camila Cabello Are Sparking Romance Rumors
- The Supreme Court refuses to block an Illinois law banning some high-power semiautomatic weapons
- Oprah Winfrey portrait revealed at National Portrait Gallery
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- NFL free agency: How top signees have fared on their new teams this season
- How Shohei Ohtani's contract compares to other unusual clauses in sports contracts
- Big Bang Theory actress Kate Micucci says she had surgery for lung cancer despite never smoking a cigarette
Recommendation
Oklahoma parole board recommends governor spare the life of man on death row
Georgia high school baseball player dies a month after being hit in the head by a bat
Kentucky governor renews pitch for higher teacher pay, universal pre-K as legislative session looms
How Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick's Kids Mason and Reign Are Celebrating Their Birthday
Shilo Sanders' bankruptcy case reaches 'impasse' over NIL information for CU star
Victims allege sex abuse in Maryland youth detention facilities under new law allowing them to sue
JetBlue pilot says he took off quickly to avoid head-on crash with incoming plane: I hope you don't hit us
Older Americans to pay less for some drug treatments as drugmakers penalized for big price jumps