The Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner’s Office announced Tuesday it had positively identified the two deceased persons found in Texas County as missing Kansas women Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with their loved ones, along with everyone throughout their community,” the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
Butler and Kelley have been missing since March 30, when they were driving in Oklahoma to pick up Butler’s children for a birthday party in Kansas and never arrived.
Texas County Sheriff’s Department released a missing poster of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley.
Texas County Sheriff’s Department
Authorities later found their vehicle abandoned in rural Oklahoma, near the Kansas border.
On April 13, Oklahoma police announced four people were arrested 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 in connection with Butler and Kelley’s disappearance.
The four individuals are Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Tifany Machel Adams, 54; Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44. All four remain in custody.
Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Tifany Machel Adams, 54; Cole Earl Twombly,50; and Cora Twombly, 44, are seen in photographs released by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation on April 14, 2024.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
On April 14, police recovered two dead bodies in rural Texas amid the investigation into the disappearance of Butler and Kelley. Identification was the responsibility of the medical examiner’s office, which made the announcement Tuesday.
On Monday, the affidavit of probable cause for the arrest warrants of the four suspects was released, detailing the alleged motive in the murder-kidnapping.
In the court documents, investigators state they discovered Butler was in a “problematic custody battle” with suspect Tifany Adams’ son for the custody of Butler’s two children.
Adams is the grandmother of Butler’s children and mother of the kids’ father, Wrangler Rickman, who has legal custody, according to the documents.
Amid the investigation into Butler and Kelley’s disappearance, authorities say they found their vehicle abandoned in rural Oklahoma, near the Kansas border.
Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, are seen in undated photos released on March 31, 2024, by the Texas County Sheriff’s Department.
Texas County Sheriff’s Department
An examination of the vehicle and the area surrounding found evidence of severe injury, according to the affidavit, which notes, that blood was found on the roadway and edge of the roadway.
Butler’s glasses were also found in the roadway south of the vehicle near a broken hammer, and a pistol magazine was found inside Kelley’s purse at the scene, but no pistol was found, according to documents.
Adams, her boyfriend and fellow suspect Tad Callum, and the two other suspects, married couple Cole and Cora Twombly, are allegedly members of the anti-government group “God’s Misfits,” according to the affidavit.
All four suspects are scheduled to make their initial court appearance on Wednesday, according to officials.
— ABC News’ Amanda Morris contributed to this report
