Prosecutors say five people charged with murdering two women because of a custody dispute meticulously planned the crime before carrying it out.
Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelleydisappeared while traveling to pick up Butler’s children for visitation. Kelley was married to a minister in Indianola, Nebraska, and was authorized to supervise Butler’s visits.
Butler and Kelley’s bodies were found inside a freezer, buried on a property rented by one of the suspects in the case.
Tifany Adams, the grandmother of Butler’s children, is one of the people charged in the case, along with Cole and Cora Twombly, Paul Grice and Tad Cullum. Prosecutors have filed a motion asking for the cases of all five defendants to be combined for an upcoming preliminary hearing.
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The motion, reviewed by Court TV, details each defendant’s alleged role in the conspiracy, which allegedly went according to plan. Prosecutors say “Adams hated and despised Butler and wanted her dead,” and was responsible for all the purchases the group needed. She is accused of buying burner phones for the group, stun devices, yellow straps that were found placed around the freezers the bodies were buried in, and even the pants Cullum wore the day of the murders.
Cullum is accused of digging the hole at the burial site with skid steers the day before the murders and is the person who allegedly stabbed Kelley to death. Grice is accused of murdering Butler the same way.
After killing the women, the men allegedly drove the bodies to the burial site, where they buried them along with the clothes that both men were wearing, the knife used to kill Butler and a stun device. Prosecutors say the victims’ DNA was on their assailants’ clothing.
Bottom Row: Paul Grice (L), Tifany Adams (R)
Cora and Cole Twombly are accused of acting as lookouts on the day of the murder and allegedly confided in their 16-year-old daughter “in the hope of receiving an alibi for the morning of the murders.”
Prosecutors argued that not only should the cases be combined for the sake of efficiency, but also because if all five defendants had separate preliminary hearings and trials, the Twombly’s teen daughter would have to travel to Oklahoma to testify 10 times, saying, “such a result is unconscionable.”
Investigators have said the murders were motivated by Adams’ hatred for Butler amid an ongoing custody battle Butler had with Adams’ son for their children. All five are allegedly part of an anti-government group with a religious affiliation, known as “Gods Misfits,” and had regular meetings at the Twomblys' home.
All five defendants are due in court on Wednesday for a motions hearing.
This story was originally published by Lauren Silver at Court TV.
