Defendant Moves To Recuse Judge In Hugoton Mom's Murder Case

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GUYMON, Okla. - One of five defendants accused in the kidnapping and brutal murder of Hugoton moms Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley one year ago this week made a motion March 26 to recuse and disqualify Oklahoma District Judge Jon Parsley from presiding over his case due to impartiality concerns. Joi Miskel of Oklahoma City, lawyer for defendant Tad Cullum, filed the motion with the Texas County Court Clerk in Guymon, Oklahoma.

As previously reported, Hugoton residents Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, went missing on March 30, 2024, and were found deceased in rural Texas County, Okla. on 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.

Cole Twombly, 50; Cora Twombly, 44; Cullum, 43, and Tifany Adams, 54, 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. A fifth suspect, Paul Grice, 31, of Keyes, Okla. was later arrested on two counts of First-Degree Murder – deliberate intent - two counts of Kidnapping, 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.

Cullum’s lawyer said in the motion that the judge’s impartiality might be questioned because he represented Adams in a 2010 civil case in Cimarron County, Okla. Under Oklahoma law, every person has the right to an impartial judge preside over their case, however, Parsley’s representation of Adams questions his impartiality.

The law states that recusals are not limited to situations in which a judge harbors actual bias or hostility toward a party, but the appearance of impropriety or lack of impartiality or bias is sufficient.

The motion states, in part, “At a minimum, the Court’s actions raise an appearance of impropriety and partiality against (the) defendant, despite the fact the Court believes it harbors no actual bias or prejudice against Mr. Cullum. Any doubts whether the court should recuse must be resolved in favor of the defendant and compel disqualification. Otherwise, Mr. Cullum will be deprived of his 14th Amendment and state constitutional rights to a fair and impartial trial before a fair and impartial judge.

“And, in any event, should the court deny this ‘formal’ motion to recuse, it cannot participate any further in this case until Mr. Cullum’s right to the review of such denial is exhausted.”

Hearings for Cullum, Adams and Grice are 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.