GUYMON, Okla. — The final defendant in the murder of Hugoton moms Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley waived his right to a speedy trial Jan. 8, opening the door for all five defendants to appear in court beginning in February.
Tad Cullum was the only defendant in the murders of Butler and Kelley that went through with preliminary hearings and had not waived his rights. At the end of the preliminary hearing for Cullum, the judge found that there was probable cause and sufficient evidence in all charges and ordered Cullum for trial.
Cullum appeared in court Jan. 8 with his attorneys and voluntarily waived his rights to a speedy trial.
As previously reported, Hugoton residents Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, went missing on March 30 and were found deceased in rural Texas County, Okla. on April 14 buried in a box freezer on private property near Texhoma, Okla. Butler was traveling to an abandoned gas station in Eva, Okla. for a child custody exchange. 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 where the defendants allegedly kidnapped and murdered the victims before transporting them to the burial site..
Cole Twombly, 50; Cora Twombly, 44; Tad Cullum, 43, and Tifany Adams, 54, were arrested in early April 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 Twomblys and Grice previously waived their rights to a preliminary hearing and speedy trial, and Adams waived her rights on Dec. 17.
The court dates are as follows:
Feb. 19 - Cora Twombly and Paul Grice
April 16 - Tad Cullum and Tifany Adams
May 7 - Cole Twombly.
The hearings will all take place at the Texas County courthouse in Guymon.
A bill is being drafted in the Oklahoma Legislature tentatively titled Veronica and Jillian’s Bill, that requires custody exchanges be made in a neutral, public spot, for the safe exchange of children. The site is to be chosen by the court or social service designee who has no vested interest in either party.If one of the parties does not show up for the exchange, there is to be a reporting process and documentation. The only method of changing the exchange location is to file a motion through the court or a petition to the social services designee.
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