Bodies of Kansas moms ‘murdered by God’s Misfits’ were found buried in freezer
New court documents reveal that the bodies of the two women were found alongside a long list of personal items
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
The bodies of two missing Kansas moms were found by authorities in a freezer buried on a farm after they were allegedly killed by members of the God’s Misfits anti-government group.
It has been almost two months since Jilian Kelley, the wife of a local pastor, and her friend Veronica Butler set off from Kansas on a road trip to visit Bulter’s children in Oklahoma.
They vanished off the highway on 30 March, and their bodies weren’t found by authorities for another two weeks. On 13 April, four people were taken into custody on charges of murder and kidnapping in connection to the two missing moms. A fifth God’s Misfits member, 31-year-old Paul Grice, was also arrested later.
Newly filed Texas County court documents obtained by two local outlets are now shedding light on precisely where the bodies of the two mothers were found.
The two women were found inside a chest freezer that was located after a two-day excavation of a burial site in a cow pasture. A long list of other items were also dug up, most with “possible blood” on them, including jeans, sweatshirts, T-shirts, a black jacket, cloth gloves, ball caps, duct tape, a sheathed black knife and a black taser/flashlight, search warrants obtained by KFOR state. The documents do not provide more details on the manner of the moms’ murders and cause of death.
The burial site was on a property that was leased by Tad Cullum, one of the murder suspects, KATV reported.
The documents also alleged that Mr Grice had asked a witness on 18 April some suspicious questions in the aftermath of the four other suspects’ arrests.
Mr Grice asked the witness how long DNA would last in dirt if it was “churned” and also questioned if the witness knew “how to get a guy and his family” to Mexico, the documents say, according to the outlet.
He also allegedly told the witness he was concerned about his DNA being in the hole that the women were found in because he had been to the Twombly’s house, although this was not further explained.
When Mr Cullum was arrested at his home on 13 April, Mr Grice was also there, the documents reportedly say, with the FBI noticing that his right pinky finger was bandaged.
Mr Grice told them he cut it working on his pickup, but a tip to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation stated someone saw Mr Grice on at the end of March and told them he injured it while cutting fencing, documents obtained by KATV state.
Data has also been seized from devices belonging to multiple suspects that could possibly link them back to the crime, the documents also reportedly detail.
The records allege that Cole and Cora Twombly, two of the suspects, had cellphones in a truck they were driving at the time of their arrest, with data on the devices linking them both to the site that the two women were abducted from, as well as the burial site, KFOR reports.
They also state that Tifany Machel Adams, another suspect, had purchased the cellphones and another device from a Walmart in February.
Before Mr Grice’s arrest, Tifany Machel Adams, 54; Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Cole Earl Twombly, 50; and Cora Twombly, 44 were all 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.
Ms Butler was allowed supervised visits on Saturdays. The day before she disappeared, Ms Butler was told by Ms Adams that her usual, paid supervisor was not available, and she should bring her own chosen person.
Ms Kelley, a preacher’s wife, was that chosen person.
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.
Butler and Kelley’s causes of death are yet to be officially revealed, but it is believed they were not shot.
The Independent has contacted Texas Office of Court Administration for further information.