Autopsy reports have revealed details of the gruesome deaths of two Kansas mothers who were found dead in “pools of blood” inside a freezer in April.
Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, suffered multiple traumatic sharp force injuries when they were killed, and medical examiners ruled their deaths homicides.
They disappeared on March 30 while driving to Oklahoma to pick up Butler’s children, ages six and eight, and their bodies were found two weeks later inside a freezer in a cow pasture.
Shortly after the bodies were found, police arrested Butler’s children’s paternal grandmother, Tifany Adams, 54, and her boyfriend Tad Cullum, 43, along with Cole Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly. , 44, and accused them of the murders.
According to court documents, the four suspects are believed to be members of a religious gang called ‘God’s Misfits,’ and Adams was involved in a bitter custody dispute over Butler’s children.
Veronica Butler, 27, suffered multiple traumatic sharp force injuries.
Jilian Kelley, 39, one of the supervisors who oversaw visits by Butler and her children, was found dead alongside Butler in April in the freezer.
The Oklahoma medical examiner’s office said it will release a full autopsy report on Nov. 15, and this week’s preliminary report notes that the women were found with blood in their mouths.
According to court documents, prosecutors said the ‘God’s Misfits’ gang was discovered when Cora’s teenage daughter overheard the group talking about Butler, before the mother told her they were involved in the women’s deaths.
The anonymous teen told authorities the group also used burner phones to communicate with each other. Agents discovered Adams purchased three prepaid phones at Walmart in February.
Authorities said the three phones were discovered near Butler’s car around the time she and Kelley disappeared. A hole filled with hay was also discovered near the car.
Tifany Adams (bottom left), the children’s grandmother, her boyfriend, Tad Cullum (top right), Cole Twombly (bottom right), and Cora Twombly (top right) were involved in a religious group anti-government group known as ‘God’s Misfits’. All were arrested for the possible kidnapping and murder of both women.
Multiple pools of blood were found near the vehicle in the desolate Oklahoma Territory. A hole filled with hay was also discovered near the car.
The affidavit said the group’s original plan was to throw an anvil, or the head of a large hammer, through Butler’s car to kill her.
They created that plan to make it look like an accident, “because anvils regularly fall off work vehicles,” according to records.
The teen also reported to officers that Cora and Cole told her they would not be home on the morning of March 29, the day before Butler and Kelley were last seen, because they were going on a “mission.”
The couple then told the teen that although the “mission” didn’t go as planned, they no longer had to worry about Butler, according to court documents.
The gang reportedly often met at the Twombley home for their meetings, and the girl allegedly told officers that they had previously attempted to murder Butler.
He explained to officers that in February, the group tried to take Butler’s life, but the mother would not leave her house. Officers later discovered that Adams had searched for ways to get someone out of a home on the Internet.
Butler’s mother-in-law had also sought pain levels with Tasers, burner phones and gun stores, according to the affidavit.
Agents discovered that in addition to purchasing burner phones, Adams also purchased five stun guns on March 23, according to the affidavit.
Kelley is the wife of Pastor Heath Kelley (pictured), who serves two churches in Kansas and Nebraska.
An affidavit revealed that Butler was going through a nasty divorce and custody battle with her Wrangler husband Cole Rickman (pictured). His mother is one of the suspects, Tifany Adams.
Butler’s children were reportedly staying with their grandmother, Adams, while Butler and her husband, Wrangler Cole Rickman, who was in a rehab facility at the time, were going through a divorce and custody battle.
On March 20, ten days before her disappearance, Butler filed a petition with the court that would grant her more time with her children, with her goal being full custody.
Butler had weekly court-ordered visits every Saturday with the children, while Kelley, one of the four people listed, supervised the visits, as the two women did on the day they were murdered.
It was Butler’s six-year-old daughter’s birthday and they planned to celebrate.
The women’s bodies were discovered when pools of blood were found near the vehicle in the desolate Oklahoma Territory, near a school Butler attended and graduated from in 2015.
Kelley is the wife of Pastor Heath Kelley, who serves two churches in Kansas and Nebraska.
On April 3, Kelley’s Willow Christian Church in Nebraska posted on Facebook: “We ask that you continue to pray for Jilian and Veronica and their families as the search and investigation continues.”
‘Pray for strength, wisdom and faith for all involved. We thank everyone who has shared prayer requests. We are receiving messages from all over the country from people praying for these two women and their families.’