3 suspects in Kansas women’s deaths face new charges

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Three of the five people accused in the murder of two Kansas women earlier this year are charged with some new crimes connected to the deaths. But they have also had some charges dropped.

Tifany Adams, Tad Cullum, Cole and Cora Twombly, and Paul Grice initially faced the same charges in the deaths of Jilian Kelley and Veronica Butler. The two Hugoton women disappeared in March while they were going to pick up Butler’s children in Oklahoma.

Adams is the paternal grandmother of Butler’s children, and court documents allege the group murdered the two women in Oklahoma because of a child custody dispute.

The original charges for all five suspects were:

• Two counts of murder in the first degree – deliberate intent,
• Two counts of kidnapping and
• Conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree – deliberate intent.

But last Thursday, the district attorney of Texas County, Oklahoma, filed amended charges against Adams, Cullum and Cole Twombly. Those three suspects are no longer charged with kidnapping the victims. Instead, they face additional charges of:

• Two counts of unlawful removal of a dead body — for allegedly removing both bodies from the original place of death and
• Two counts of unlawful desecration of a human corpse — for allegedly disposing of both bodies underground, which impeded the investigation and resulted in the loss of evidence.

The DA also added two counts of child neglect against Adams. The amended document alleges that Adams exposed a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old to illegal activity by making the children carry ratchet straps around a farming supply store the week before Kelley and Butler were killed. The DA says those straps were the ones wrapped around the freezer the bodies were buried in.

Grice and Cora Twombly still face the original charges, including the two counts of kidnapping.

In September, Grice waived his right to a preliminary hearing and a speedy trial. His next court date is Feb. 19, 2025. The other four suspects are expected in court for their preliminary hearings on Dec. 17.

During a preliminary hearing, prosecutors present evidence and witnesses in an attempt to prove there is probable cause that a defendant committed a crime and should be tried.