Affidavits detail alleged plot targeting 2 Kansas women

Court documents say a custody battle was behind the deaths of two Kansas women in Oklahoma.

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) -- Four affidavits made public on Monday show how investigators pieced together evidence in the case of two missing Kansas women. A judge had originally sealed the court documents but allowed access Monday morning.

The affidavits detail the connection between the four people who have been arrested in the alleged kidnapping and murders of Jilian Kelley and Veronica Butler of Kansas on Saturday, March 30.

The car

Investigators say Veronica Butler of Hugoton was on her way to have a court-ordered supervised visit with her two children in Oklahoma. The court documents say Jilian Kelley was the approved supervisor. They were going to take Butler's daughter to a birthday party. When they did not arrive at the party, Butler's family began looking for them.

Investigators have evidence that the women got to Highway 95 and Road L at 9:40 a.m. They were allegedly scheduled to exchange custody at 10 a.m. with the children's grandmother five miles farther down the road at Highway 95 and U.S. 64 West, also known as Four Corners.

Two of Butler's family members found the abandoned car at Road L and contacted law enforcement.

The affidavits say evidence in and around the vehicle indicated a severe injury. Blood was on the road and edge of the road. Butler's glasses were on the ground near a broken hammer. A pistol magazine was found inside Kelley's purse at the scene, but no pistol was found.

The grandmother

According to the affidavits, alleged suspect Tifany Adams is the children's grandmother. Her son, Wrangler Rickman, is the children's father and has legal custody. But the affidavits say Adams sometimes "refused to let Rickman have his children" and was particular about who should monitor Butler's Saturday visits.

The court ordered Adams to pay for the supervisor she preferred. Otherwise, Butler was to choose and pay for one of three approved supervisors.

According to the affidavits, Adams said her preferred person was unavailable for the March 30 visit. Her preferred supervisor allegedly told investigators a different story, saying Adams told her to take a couple of weeks off.

Because the preferred supervisor was not going to supervise the visit, Butler chose Kelley to go with her.

The grandmother allegedly told investigators Butler canceled the visit during a phone call at 9 a.m. on March 30. The affidavits say that Butler's phone records confirmed a phone call, but that was the same time Butler was in Hugoton in the process of picking up Kelley.

Adams told investigators she was home at the time the women disappeared.

Investigators say Rickman was in a rehabilitation facility in Oklahoma City.

Death threats

The custody battle between Butler and Rickman began in February 2019. The affidavits claim that there are recordings where Rickman talks about death threats made by his mother and her boyfriend, Tad Cullum. The affidavit is not clear about who the death threats were against.

Last month, Butler requested extended visitation with the children. A hearing on her request was scheduled for this Wednesday. Her attorney told investigators that it was likely Butler would have been granted unsupervised visits at the hearing.

Burner phones

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation got a search warrant for Adams' phone. The affidavits say the information gained included web searches for taser pain level, gun shops, prepaid cellular phones and how to get someone out of their house.

A juvenile allegedly told the OSBI that she overheard conversations about Butler. The teen allegedly claims that Cora Twombly said she was involved in the deaths and that Twombly's husband Cole Twombly, Adams and Cullum were also involved.

The OSBI says, according to the teen, Adams provided burner phones to use so they could communicate without using their personal phones. The teen told investigators she saw two burner phones charging on Cora Twombly's nightstand.

According to the affidavit, the teen said the four suspects and another man are part of an anti-government group that has a religious affiliation. OSBI says investigators learned the group, "God's Misfits," had regular weekly meetings.

Morning of the disappearance

Investigators say the married couple, Cora and Cole Twombly, told a relative they were going to be on a "mission" on the morning of March 30. The OSBI says they arrived back home around noon and told a relative to clean the pickup they had been in.

The relative asked what happened and was allegedly told "that things did not go as planned, but that they would not have to worry about her (Butler) again."

According to the affidavit, the Twomblys blocked the road to divert Butler and Kelley to where Adams, Cullum, and another man were.

The relative asked why Kelley had to die, and Cora Twombly allegedly said "that she wasn't innocent either, as she had supported Butler."

The relative asked if the bodies were put in a well, and Cora Twombly allegedly replied, "Something like that."

The relative also allegedly told investigators that there had been previous unsuccessful attempts to kill Butler. One alleged attempt would have involved throwing an anvil through Butler's windshield, but she never came out of her house that day.

The OSBI says that while investigators were interviewing the relative, Cora and Cole Twombly tried to get to the relative and were verbally aggressive.

Stun guns and the phones

The OSBI says that Adams bought five stun guns in Guymon, Oklahoma, on March 23. Investigators also say she bought three prepaid cellular phones on Feb. 13.

The OSBI says information related to location services and phone usage shows that all three phones were at the area where Butler's car was located and the last known location of Butler and Kelley at the time of their disappearance.

The investigators say the phones were first powered on at or near suspect Cullum's home at different times before March 30. The OSBI says there is also evidence of two of the phones being at the Twombly residence.

The OSBI says that after the women disappeared, the phones were at another person's property in a pasture where fresh dirt work had been done.

Investigators say a hole had been dug and filled back in and then covered with hay. The site is about 8.5 miles from where the women disappeared.

The OSBI says all the pre-paid phones stopped transmitting on the morning of March 30 near the fresh dirt site and near the Twombly home.

Fresh dirt

The person who owns the land where the dirt work was done says Cullum rents the pasture. The owner says Cullum asked, on March 28 or 29, if he could cut a tree down, remove a stump, bury some concrete and do dirt work. The owner said Adams was with Cullum during the request. The owner gave Cullum permission.

The landowner said Cullum did the work with a skid steer on March 30, and the skid steer was gone by noon

The affidavits did not say anything about the bodies being found at the location.

Adams, Cullum and the Twombleys were arrested. They are scheduled to make their initial court appearance on Wednesday morning.