The tragic case of Jilian Kelley, 39, and Veronica Butler, 27, who were discovered in a freezer in Oklahoma two weeks after going missing in March, continues to reveal harrowing details.
Investigators now suspect the murders stemmed from a custody dispute involving Butler’s daughter, with a paternal grandmother allegedly at the center of the plot, as revealed in court documents.
According to a medical examiner’s report, Kelley died from “multiple sharp force trauma,” confirmed as homicide.
The report documented nine stab wounds and seven incised wounds on her body, with two injuries indicating possible defensive efforts.
Further injuries included a severe spinal cord injury, which likely rendered her unable to move or breathe independently, suggesting a rapid death.
Evidence of possible stun gun marks was also noted, although the decomposed condition of her body limited full confirmation.
The two women were last seen on March 30, en route to retrieve Butler’s daughter for a supervised birthday visit. They vanished near the Oklahoma-Kansas border, where investigators believe suspects lured them under false pretenses.
Their car was later found abandoned along the highway.
On April 13, authorities located their bodies in a chest freezer buried in a pasture on a property rented by Tifany Adams, Butler’s daughter’s grandmother, and her boyfriend Tad Bert Cullum.
Searchers also uncovered clothing, a stun gun, tape, and a knife buried near the freezer, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI).
Court documents revealed Cullum had requested permission to “cut a tree down, remove a stump, and bury concrete” shortly before the women’s disappearance, with the property owner noting Cullum’s work on this project.
Cullum, Adams, and three other suspects—Cole Twombly, Cora Twombly, and Paul Grice—have been apprehended.
Each is facing multiple charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit murder.
The five suspects are allegedly affiliated with an anti-government group known as “God’s Misfits,” which had religious affiliations and regularly convened at the Twombly residence.
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