On March 30, 2024, Veronica C. Butler, aged 27, and Jilian Kelley aged 39, went missing while on their way from Hugoton, Kansas to a supervised visit with Butler’s children.
Butler was in a custody battle with Tifany Machel Adams, her children's grandmother. According to reports, the father of the children, Butler’s ex-husband and son of Adams was in a rehabilitation center at the time of the disappearance and custody battle.
Jilian Kelley the second woman in the car with Butler which was found abandoned by the highway, was Butler's friend and a court-ordered supervisor to Butler’s visits with her children.
Since Butler’s family announced her missing after she didn't make it to her destination, many revelations have been made and investigations have unfolded the mysterious disappearance and unfortunate aftermath.
Let’s walk you through what transpired in this case.
All We Know about the March 30, Missing Women Case
For starters, it is imperative to state that this story will revolve around 27-year-old Veronica Butler, her kids, the bitter custody battle with the grandmother of her kids, and how everything links to her disappearance.
In light of that, we should start by saying that the disappearance of Veronica and Jilian was a well-thought-out and executed plan by Tifany Adams, the grandmother of Veronica’s 2 kids.
Reports based on investigations carried out give the following timelines of events that led to the uncovering of the master plan by Adams and 4 other accomplices.
· On February 13, Tifany Adams bought 3 pre-paid cell phones from the Guymon Walmart in Oklahoma which she used in communicating with her other accomplices before and during committing the crime.
· On March 18 through 20th, Veronica Butler filed a case requesting to have an extended visitation with her children. Adams had custody of the 2 children. The hearing for this case was slated for a month later, April 17.
· On March 23, Tifany Adams made another purchase, this time from the Big R store, and her purchase was 5 stun guns.
· By 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 30, the day Veronica and Jilian disappeared, the 2 women left Hugoton, Kansas for a pickup of her kids at Eva, Oklahoma. This was in line with Butler’s approved regular visits which were usually supervised by court-ordered supervisors.
· Same March 30, Butler and Kelley arrived at Highway 95 and Road L close to where they were meant to pick up the kids, and shortly after, their phone signals went off.
· While the cell phones on Butler and Kelley stopped transmitting a signal, those purchased by Adams weeks back were located at the same spot Butler and Kelley’s phones stopped.
· At about 10:05 - 10:16 a.m. Tad Bert Cullum, Tifany Adams’ friend had 2 of the cell phones bought by the grandmother, located in his residence. A while later, the cell phones were traced to a cattle grazing property rented by Cullum, less than 9 miles away from where Veronica Butler’s car was found.
· Further investigations showed that a recent job was done on the property rented by Cullum. The man had previously sought permission from the owner of the property to uproot a tree, dig a hole, and fill it with dirt and concrete. Permission was granted and he went ahead to do the work.
· On this same March 30, later in the day, all 3 pre-paid phones purchased by Adams stopped transmitting signals.
· By noon on March 30, Veronica Butler’s family put out a call to the police reporting that she was missing after they found her car abandoned on the side of the already-mentioned highway.
· That same day, the Texas County sheriff’s office investigated the abandoned car and found evidence proving that someone in the car suffered severe injury. They also followed a trail and saw traces of blood on the roadway with Butler’s glasses close to a broken hammer tossed on the side of the road. In the purse of the court-ordered supervisor, a pistol magazine was found but the pistol was missing.
· The Texas police later put out an ‘Endangered Missing Persons Alert’ on their Facebook page.
· March 31, 2024, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) via their social media platform, put out a request for anyone with useful information to reach out to them.
· April 1, 2024, a warrant to obtain and search Tifany Adams’ phone was obtained and in there, web searches about taser pain level, gun shops, pre-paid cellular phones, and how to get someone out of their house, were found in her web search history.
· 2 days later, the OSBI investigation led the team to interview the daughter of one of the named accomplices to Butler and Kelley’s disappearance. The 16-year-old girl revealed that her parents, Cora Twombly and Cole Twombly alongside Tiffany Adams and her partner, Tad Cullum were involved in whatever happened to the missing Kansas women.
· In a ‘tell it all’, Cora and Cole’s daughter narrated all she knew from the start of the mission to the point the women went missing. The young girl narrated how the 4 already named individuals and another person who she mentioned was involved, were a part of an anti-government religious group known as ‘God’s Misfits’.
She also said her parents woke her up on March 30, the day Butler and Kelley went missing, telling her that they were going on a ‘mission’. By noon, they returned in 2 pickup vans and told her that they wouldn’t have to worry about Butler anymore. She also mentioned that the 4 individuals communicated with each other via pre-paid cell phones.
The young girl asked if the bodies were dumped in a well and her parents responded with ‘something like that.’
The Twombly girl further revealed that there was an earlier plan to end Butler’s life and that they planned on luring her out of the house and throwing an anvil into Butler’s windshield but she refused to leave the house that day.
· After the interview with the young girl, the OSBI requested that the FBI be involved in the investigation into the case.
· On April 12, 2024, 43-year-old Tad Bert Cullum, 54-year-old Tifany Machel Adams, 50-year-old Earl Twombly, and 44-year-old Cora Twombly were charged in the Texas County District Court.
· The aforementioned people were charged with 2 counts of first-degree murder, 2 counts of kidnapping, and 1 count of conspiracy to commit murder.
· Cole and Cora Twombly alongside Tad Bert Cullum were arrested without incident.
· On April 14, 2024, investigations led to the uncovering of 2 bodies in the rural Texas County. The bodies were sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for identification and to ascertain the cause of death.
· The next day, April 15, the OSBI and FBI held a press conference where they tendered their condolences to the families of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley. At the time, it hadn’t been confirmed if the bodies found belonged to the missing Kansas women.
· On April 16, 2024, the OSBI confirmed that the bodies found 2 days ago were indeed those of Veronica Butler and her friend/ court-ordered supervisor, Jilian Kelley.
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