The four suspects accused of murder of two Kansas women Prosecutors said one of them provided a statement “indicating her responsibility” for the killings, according to court records.
Tifany Adams, 54, her boyfriend Tad Cullum, 43, Cole Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, are each charged with two counts of first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a murder.
The judge entered not guilty pleas for all four accused of the murder. Veronica Butler, 27, and Jillian Kelley, 39. The two Kansas women disappeared March 30 while picking up Butler’s children from a birthday party in neighboring Oklahoma.
According to a motion to deny bail to the four suspects, prosecutors say that after Adams’ arrest, she “provided a recorded statement to law enforcement indicating her responsibility for the decedent’s death.”
“Adams, Cullum, Cora and Cole have sufficient resources to plan and execute a complex murder,” an affidavit states. “Therefore, they also have the resources to flee if given the opportunity.”
Family members of the deceased were at the courthouse Wednesday to confront the alleged killers of Butler and Kelley.
Bryson Butler, Veronica Butler’s younger brother, told CBS affiliate KFDA, “I just hope justice is served.”
“How can you hate someone so much that you want to kill them? How can you hate the mother of your grandchildren so much that you want to end her life?” » Butler’s aunt told KFDA.
Adams is the paternal grandmother of Butler’s children, and the two were in a custody dispute before Butler’s death. At the time of her disappearance, Butler was only allowed to visit her children on Saturdays, and Kelley was the supervisor that day, according to an affidavit.
The car the two women were traveling in was found on the side of the road in late March, and evidence, including blood and a broken hammer found nearby, led authorities to believe they had disappeared following a a “criminal act”.
Butler and Kelley remained missing for two weeks until their bodies were found on April 14, a day after all four suspects were arrested. According to an affidavit, their bodies were found on property Cullum rented, and a stun gun was also found at the site.
Authorities say data from Adams’ phone showed she searched for “Taser pain level, gun stores, prepaid cell phones and how to get someone out of their house,” according to the affidavit.
Authorities say the four suspects belong to an anti-government group called “God’s Misfits” that met weekly at the Twombly home and other locations. The group had previously attempted to kill Butler, including attempting to lure him from his home in Kansas, according to a teenage witness who spoke to investigators.
Authorities believe Adams killed Butler because she may have been allowed unsupervised visitation with her children during a hearing scheduled for April 17.
“Adams was vehemently opposed and went to great lengths to plan and purchase the items used in the murders of Butler and Kelley,” an affidavit states.
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