Four suspects have been arrested in the killing of two mothers: Tad Bert Cullum (top left), Cora Twombly (top right), Tifany Machel Adams (bottom left), and Cole Earl Twombly (bottom right) (Picture: AP)
Four suspects accused of killing two missing Kansas mothers belong to a group that go by the name ‘God’s Misfits’.
The moms, Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, vanished while trying to pick up Butler’s children aged 6 and 8, and their bodies were found in a rural area of Oklahoma two weeks later.
Four individuals arrested on Saturday – Tifany Adams, 54, her boyfriend Tad Cullum, 43, Cora Twombly, 44, and her husband Cole Twombly, 50 – are members of God’s Misfits, authorities said on Monday.
All four of the suspects met with several others in the group on a regular basis, according to their arrest affidavits. They were described as an ‘anti-government group that has a religious affiliation’ and met weekly.
Kansas mothers Veronica Butler (left) and Jilian Kelley (right) were found dead in a rural area of Oklahoma (Pictures: AP)
Cora’s 16-year-old daughter told investigators that her mother and stepfather, Cole, and the two other murder suspects were part of God’s Misfits, reported The Christian Post.
Little verifiable information about God’s Misfits is online.
The blood-soaked vehicle of Butler and Kelley was discovered on March 30, the same day the moms had arranged with the grandmother of Butler’s two kids to pick them up at a highway intersection for a birthday party.
Adams is the paternal grandma of Butler’s children, and the women were involved in a ‘problematic custody battle’, according to police.
The missing mothers’ remains were found in a very rural part of Oklahoma after a two-week search (Picture: PodcastSTS/X)
Butler’s family members spotted the vehicle a few miles from the expected meet-up spot after the moms and kids did not show up at the party in Kansas.
‘Blood was found on the roadway and the edge of the roadway. Butler’s glasses were also found in the roadway south of the vehicle, near a broken hammer,’ state the affidavits. ‘A pistol magazine was found inside Kelley’s purse at the scene, but no pistol was found.’
Kelley was the wife of a pastor in Hugoton, Kansas, and was Butler’s friend.
The two kids’ whereabouts were unknown amid the search for the mothers, but they have been confirmed safe.
Jilian Kelley (pictured) was accompanying Veronica Butler to pick up Butler’s two young children for a birthday party (Picture: Facebook/Jilian Kelley)
All four God’s Misfits members were arrested on Saturday and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and a count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
They are being held in Texas County Jail without bond, said Court Clerk Renee Ellis, and are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
‘This case is tragic,’ said Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesman Hunter KcKee.
‘You have two people who are dead and four people who committed an absolutely brutal crime.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.