Bodies of missing Kansas women found buried in Oklahoma freezer, officials say

The bodies of two missing Kansas women were found in a freezer in Oklahoma, officials and media reported.

Court documents filed May 15 and recently unsealed indicate the bodies were found April 14 buried in a freezer in a rented cow pasture in Texas County, Oklahoma, according to NBC News and the Associated Press.

Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, were “traveling together to pick up children” in March, according to a March 30 article from the Texas County Sheriff's Department. Authorities later found their vehicle abandoned on the side of the road near the Kansas-Oklahoma border, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations (OSBI) said.

Five people were billed in relation with their dead: Paul Grice, 31 years old; Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Tiffany Machel Adams, 54; Cole Earl Twombly, 50; and Cora Twombly, 44, according to OSBI.

Cullum was renting the cow pasture where authorities said Butler and Kelley were found, the Associated Press reported, citing court documents.

Cullum's attorney did not immediately respond to McClatchy News' request for comment. Attorney information for the other four defendants was not listed. The Associated Press reported that a gag order stipulates that lawyers are not allowed to comment publicly on the case.

The affidavit said the five suspects are believed to be part of an anti-government religious group known as “God's Misfits,” according to the Associated Press.

According to court records, Butler had been involved in a “problematic” custody dispute with Adams over Butler's children since 2019, NBC News reported. Adams is the children's grandmother, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.

Butler had requested extended visitation from his children and a hearing was set for April 17, according to USA Today.

Before then, Butler was supposed to arrive at a birthday party with her children, the outlet reported. However, she never appeared at the party, according to USA Today.

Officials said three prepaid cell phones purchased by Adams were in the area near where Butler's car was found after she went missing, according to NBC News.

“Evidence discovered in and around this abandoned vehicle was able to help our investigators determine that there was foul play involved,” OSBI spokesperson Hunter McKee said, as reported by The Wichita Eagle.

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