Kansas women killed in child custody dispute found buried in cow pasture freezer: court documents

Two Kansas women were found dead in a freezer buried in a cow pasture in the Oklahoma panhandle two weeks after they disappeared, new court records show.

Veronica Butler, 27, was reported missing March 30 after she was supposed to pick up her children for a weekly supervised visit and go to a family birthday party but never showed up. She was with a court-approved supervisor, Jilian Kelley, 39, who was also reported missing.

Investigators believe her disappearance and death were part of a plot between five people, including Tifany Adams, 54, the children’s grandmother, with whom Butler was involved in a bitter custody battle.

Adams and three others were charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit murder before the bodies were found on April 14. A fifth person later confessed to his involvement.

Tragic murders: He tracked his stolen iPhone to the wrong home and set it on fire, killing five people. He now faces a prison sentence.

Gloves, tape, knives uncovered at grave site with freezer

It took officials two days to excavate Butler and Kelley’s gravesite. She was in a cattle pasture less than 10 miles from where they disappeared.

According to a search report filed last week in Texas County District Court, the women were found in a freezer along with “personal items” that did not belong to the deceased women.

Those items included Wrangler blue jeans, sweatshirts, T-shirts, a black jacket, cloth gloves, ball caps, duct tape and a black KA-BAR knife with a sheath that was described as “possibly containing blood,” according to records.

Officers also seized a saw handle, ratchet straps and a “black taser/flashlight” as well as “electrical cord and small black tape.”

Although the new documents do not indicate how the women were killed, Oklahoma’s medical examiner said they were not shot.

Five people charged with murder plot by anti-government group God’s Misfits

Adams, her boyfriend Tad Bert Cullum, 43, and a married couple, Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, were charged in the women’s April 12 deaths. Paul Jeremiah Grice, 31, later admitted his involvement and was subsequently charged.

The women’s bodies were found on Cullum’s land.

All five defendants are said to belong to the anti-government religious group God’s Misfits. Local investigators reported that the group met regularly at the home of the Twomblys and another couple.

As The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported, a South Carolina preacher who calls himself Preacher Squirrel runs “God’s Misfits” channels online and has denied any involvement in the incident.

“We never had anything to do with what happened in Oklahoma and we absolutely do not condone such behavior. It goes directly against God’s Word,” he posted on Facebook.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors are prohibited by court order from discussing the cases outside of court.

Police suspect foul play after Butler’s car was found abandoned with “evidence of serious injuries.”

Investigators said Adams purchased three prepaid cell phones and five stun guns in the weeks before the women disappeared on March 30. Butler had requested extended visitation in her contentious custody case, and the hearing was scheduled for April 17.

According to court documents, Butler and Kelley left Hugoton, Kansas, around 9 a.m. on March 30 to pick up Butler’s children for their weekly supervised visitation. Butler planned to bring her daughter to a family birthday party. Kelley was one of Butler’s court-approved visitation directors.

Butler and Kelley arrived about five miles north of the expected rendezvous point and their phones stopped sending signals shortly afterward. The three prepaid cell phones were also on site at this time.

When Butler didn’t show up to the birthday party, her family became worried and went looking for her. Butler’s family members contacted police after finding her car abandoned on the side of the road.

The Texas County Sheriff’s Office found “evidence of serious injury” after examining the vehicle and surrounding area. They found blood on the roadway, Butler’s glasses lay on the street next to a broken hammer, and a pistol magazine was found in Kelley’s purse, but no pistol.

On April 3, the 16-year-old daughter of two defendants told investigators that the group was involved in the murders. Charges were filed against the group on April 12 and the bodies were recovered two days later.

Contributors: Cheyenne Derksen, The Oklahoman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kansas women found dead buried in freezer, court documents show