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GUYMON, Okla. — The mastermind of a murder plot that resulted in the deaths of two Hugoton women has asked for a continuance, delaying her scheduled April 16 court appearance.
Tifany Adams, 54 at the time of her arrest, allegedly plotted to murder the mother of her grandchildren, Veronica Butler, 27, Hugoton, and solicited the help of her boyfriend Tad Cullum, as well as Cole Twombly, Cora Twombly, and Paul Grice. The five suspects kidnapped Butler and court-appointed liaison Jilian Kelley, 39, Hugoton, March 30, 2024, and the two women were found deceased in rural Texas County, Okla., April 14, 2024. Butler was traveling to an abandoned gas station in Eva, Okla., for a child custody exchange and Kelley was a court-appointed liaison for Butler to oversee the exchange. The vehicle they were traveling in was found abandoned on Oklahoma Highway 95 just south of the Kansas state line near Elkhart.
The suspects were arrested in early April 2024 and charged with two counts of Kidnapping, two counts of First-Degree Murder – deliberate intent - and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the First Degree.
The five are accused of killing the two women, putting them in a freezer and burying the freezer in a field near Texhoma, Okla.
In the continuance motion filed April 2 with the Texas County Court Clerk in Guymon, lawyers for Adams said they received further discovery and needed time to review the materials, requesting a continuance until May 14. The state did not object to the request.
Defendant Tad Cullum filed a motion March 26 to recuse and disqualify Oklahoma District Judge Jon Parsley from presiding over his case due to impartiality concerns.
Hearings for Cullum and Grice are still scheduled for April 16 at the Texas County Courthouse in Guymon. A hearing for defendant Cole Twombly is scheduled for May 7 and the hearing for Cora Twombly is set for May 14 – both in Guymon.
On April 3, the District Attorney's Office in Texas County filed a mo-tion asking the court for permission to allow the OSBI to conduct DNA testing on several pieces of evidence, including:
•Ratchet strap handle
•Prong end of taser
•Divets/buttons on taser
•Bloodstain on sock
•Stain on grey hat
•Stain on blue and white hat
•Bloodstain from left Ariat shoe
•Claw hammer head and grip
Attorneys for each of the five defendants have 15 days to file a response. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for May 15.
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