The cause of death of two Kansas women whose bodies were found in an abandoned chest freezer in April has been determined, court documents say. Kake Obtained reveal.
According to the media report, Hugoton mother Veronica Butler, 27, and her aunt Jillian Kelly, 39, went missing on March 30 while on their way to Oklahoma to pick up Butler's children. Their bodies were discovered on April 14 in a freezer buried on a cattle ranch.
The car they were in was also found abandoned near the Kansas-Oklahoma border.
Newly obtained police reports reveal that investigators found that two different suspects were responsible for the stabbing deaths of Butler and Kelly.
Five suspects were arrested in April and May, including Tiffany Machelle Adams, 50, the grandmother of Butler's children. Adams was involved with an “anti-government religious gang” called the “God's Misfits.” Daily Mail Reported.
Tiffany Machelle Adams (Texas County Sheriff's Department)
According to court documents, Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, served as lookouts for the murders and allegedly admitted this to their teenage daughter to provide an alibi.
Cole Earl Twombly (Texas County Sheriff's Department)
Cora Twombly (Texas County Sheriff's Department)
Paul Grice, 31, is accused of stabbing Butler to death and of “severely” cutting her hand with the murder weapon, and is also accused of throwing his clothes, a stun gun and the knife he used to kill Butler at the burial site.
Paul Grice (Texas County Sheriff's Department)
Police said his and Butler's DNA was found on clothing recovered from the scene.
Tad Karam, 43, allegedly received permission from the cattle ranch owner to dig the hole in which he hid the body the day before the murder.
Tad Cullum (Texas County Sheriff's Department)
The following day, Cullum is said to have stabbed Kelly and then, together with Grice, carried both bodies to a burial site, leaving their clothes there.
Kelly's DNA was later found on the suspect's clothing, and “accessories” to the knife used to kill the two women were found in the suspect's home, ABC affiliates reported.
of Daily Mail The report said Karam was Adams' boyfriend and co-conspirator.
Adams is accused of purchasing the disposable cellphones the group used to communicate from Walmart and the stun gun found at the burial site from Standard Supply.
“She also purchased the yellow straps that were placed around the freezer that contained Butler and Kelly's bodies at Tractor Supply,” Cake added.
“Adams hated and despised Butler and wanted her dead,” court documents state.
According to court records: Daily Mail It was revealed that Adams was fighting over custody of Butler's children during the divorce proceedings with Butler's husband, wrangler Cole Rickman.
On March 20, 10 days before the two women went missing, Butler filed a petition in court seeking full custody and more time with her children.
“Court documents say Butler and Adams had a falling out amid a custody battle,” the outlet reported.
Kelly was one of four people listed as supervisors for Butler's weekly visits with the children.
The two women were on their way to visit Butler's children for Butler's daughter's sixth birthday.
According to court documents, Twombly's daughter reportedly told authorities that her original plan was to throw a large anvil or hammer at Butler's windshield to make his death look like an accident, “because anvils often fall off work vehicles.”
Another murder plot was foiled in February after a teenager told police Butler wouldn't leave his house, prompting Adams to allegedly search the internet for ways to get someone out of their home.
The day before the women went missing, Twombly allegedly told her daughter he had a “mission” and would not be coming home, then told her that although things had not gone as planned, she no longer needed to worry about Butler.
