TEXAS COUNTY, Okla. – Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, vanished at the end of March. Law enforcement authorities have recovered two bodies in a rural area believed to be the missing women, and four suspects have been arrested and charged with murder, according to reports.
The recovery of the bodies was announced Sunday by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), the FBI and the Texas County Sheriff’s Office. Law enforcement authorities said in a statement that the bodies will be “transported to the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner to determine identification and cause and manner of death.”
Meanwhile, four suspects were taken into custody on Saturday. They were identified as Tad Bert Cullum, 43, Tifany Machel Adams, 54, Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, following their arrests in both Texas and Cimarron counties in Oklahoma. Each was booked at the Texas County Jail and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, ABC News reported.
Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Tifany Machel Adams, 54; Cole Earl Twombly,50; and Cora Twombly, 44, are facing murder and kidnapping charges. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)
Butler and Kelley, both from Hugoton, Kansas, have been missing since March 30. The last known information about the missing women is that they were driving in Oklahoma to pick up Butler’s children for a birthday party in Kansas, Law Officer reported earlier this month.
According to the initial OSBI press release, the women’s vehicle “was found abandoned near Highway 95 and Road L south of Elkhart, Kansas, in rural Texas County. OSBI special agents, along with local law enforcement agencies, are currently working to locate these individuals.”
“Veronica and Jillian were traveling together to pick up children,” it says. “They never made it to the pick-up location. Their car was located abandoned on the side of the road.”
During a Monday press conference, officials said the women were victims of a “brutal crime.”
“You have two people who are dead and four people that committed an absolutely brutal crime,” said Hunter McKee, the public information manager with OSBI, according to Aol.com.
Evidence located in the women’s abandoned vehicle, plus information gathered from witnesses, as well as family and friends of the victims, pointed investigators toward the suspects, McKee noted.
The mothers were traveling to Eva, Okla. to pick up Butler’s children who have been living with a paternal grandparent, according to NewsNation.
The pair of women were involved in their church communities in Kansas, reported KOCO-TV.
Pastor Tim Singer told the news outlet that Kelley “is the wife of a pastor here in our community. Also an employee of the church, First Christian Church.”
Singer also said the women were going to bring the kids back for a birthday party, heavy.com reported.
Sources told NewsNation that Kelley might have accompanied Butler to assist her with a custody matter. The two women were described as more “acquaintances” than “friends.”
Adams is the grandmother of Butler’s children, and Cullum is her boyfriend, according to NewsNation.
Cole and Cora Twombly have been in an eight-year relationship and are friends with Adams on Facebook, the New York Post reported.
“This wasn’t random,” said Texas County Sheriff Matt Boley. “With some of the information coming, (it appeared to be) more targeted.”
Additional details related to the ongoing investigation have not been released.
