In a chilling case out of Oklahoma, the final moments of two women, Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley, were revealed in a disturbing autopsy report following their grisly deaths. The women were found in April, two weeks after disappearing while traveling from southern Kansas to Texas County, Oklahoma, where Butler had planned to pick up her children for a birthday party. The case, which unfolded in a bizarre and violent custody dispute, involves multiple suspects facing first-degree murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy charges.
Butler, 27, and Kelley, 39, were reported missing on March 30 by Butler’s family after they failed to return from the meeting with Butler’s estranged mother-in-law, Tifany Adams, to collect the children. According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), Butler had been embroiled in a contentious custody battle with Adams over her two children. The investigation soon focused on Adams and others who were connected to a religious and anti-government group called “God’s Misfits,” which added a strange layer of conspiracy to the case.
Autopsy results revealed the brutal details of Butler’s death. She had suffered 30 sharp force injuries to her head and neck, along with a single blunt force injury to the top of her head. There were also signs of stun gun marks on her lower neck and upper back. These injuries caused severe damage to her internal jugular veins, leading to her rapid death from blood loss, or exsanguination. The autopsy concluded that Butler’s death occurred quickly, likely before her body was hidden inside a chest freezer.
Butler’s body, along with Kelley’s, was discovered buried in a freezer 4½ to 8 feet underground, beneath a large concrete slab on a rural property in Texas County. The freezer contained other incriminating items, including a stun gun, a roll of tape, and a knife, suggesting a calculated effort to conceal the murders. Investigators found evidence that the freezer had been deliberately sealed and buried, further indicating the perpetrators had planned to dispose of the bodies in a concealed location.
The search for the missing women led authorities to a farm rented by Tad Bert Cullum, the boyfriend of Tifany Adams, where authorities discovered the burial site. The OSBI had tracked burner phones used by the suspects to this farm, and when agents searched the property on April 13, they uncovered the bodies. A witness, the property owner, told investigators that Cullum had been seen operating a skid steer near the area in question on March 29 and 30, just before the disappearance. The witness also recalled Cullum and Adams asking permission to perform some “dirt work” and tree removal near a concrete pile, which later turned out to be the burial site.
The investigation revealed further details of the sinister plot. Butler had been granted court-ordered visitation with her children, and Kelley was serving as the approved supervisor for the visit. On the morning of March 30, the two women set out to collect the children but never arrived at their destination. Authorities later found Butler’s abandoned vehicle along Highway 95, near the Kansas-Oklahoma border, with evidence of a violent struggle, including blood and a broken hammer. Kelley’s purse was also found to contain a magazine for a pistol, though no firearm was found.
Through interviews and further investigation, detectives uncovered that the suspects were part of the so-called “God’s Misfits,” a group reportedly involved in anti-government beliefs. One of the suspects, a teenage family member, confirmed that the group had discussed plans to abduct the children and had made references to the custody dispute as part of their rationale for the crime.
The case, which has captivated the public with its disturbing mix of violence and conspiracy, continues to unravel as authorities seek justice for Butler and Kelley, while also piecing together the motives behind the bizarre and brutal killings.
