Judge Hears Testimony In Hugoton Moms Murder Case

News1@ulyssesnews.com

GUYMON, Okla. — Preliminary hearings in the case of two Hugoton women murdered in the Oklahoma Panhandle last Spring took place Dec. 17-18 in the Texas County Courthouse, with explosive testimony by suspects Cora Twombly and Paul Grice.

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 on April 14. 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.

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 waived their rights to a preliminary hearing and speedy trial, and Adams waived her rights on Dec. 17. Cullum was ordered held over for trial.

Cora Twombly and Paul Grice, who previously waived their right to a preliminary hearing, were in court at the preliminary hearing after the district attorney filed a motion to have them testify.

Adams was escorted out of the courtroom Dec. 17 after she waived the right to a preliminary hearing and a speedy trial and is scheduled to be back in court April 26.

The first day of the preliminary hearings was focused on testimony for Cora Twombly and Paul Grice.

Cora Twombly testified in exchange for a plea agreement, the district attorney said that she will plead guilty to first-degree murder and conspiring to commit murder and will testify about what she knew of the crimes.

According to a report from KFOR television in Oklahoma City, by doing so, the District Attorney would recommend life with all but 30 years suspended for the two murder charges, the two kidnapping charges were dropped and she will receive 10 years for the Conspiracy to commit murder charge. Twombly said part of her plea agreement is to protect her daughter, saying that if she testified, her daughter would not have to.

Her testimony focused on the relationship between the suspects and the group they created called God’s Misfits, which mixed politics and religion.

Twombly told the court that many of the suspects grew up together in the same area of Oklahoma between Keyes and Boise City.

She said she and her husband, Cole Twombly, were watching videos and learning about their constitutional rights when Paul Grice came by to buy a puppy and joined their conversation. Adams and Cullum later joined the group.

Cora said that she and Adams Adams began to bond over the struggles they faced as parents. Adams eventually confided about her custody issues with her grandchildren.

The District Attorney said that at the core of this is the discussion of child abuse. Cora Twombly testified that leading up to the murders, Adams and Cullum shared allegations that someone in Butler’s family was abusing Adams’ grandchildren.

Cora Twombly said that, over time, conversations eventually turned to how to get rid of Butler, the mother of Adams’ grandchildren, because Adams did not have enough money to continue fighting for custody.

Cora Twombly testified that a first attempt on Butler’s life was going to be on Butler’s birthday, but it did not happen. She testified that the group devised a new plan in which she would be the lookout.

She also testified that her husband Cole was not aware of the plan to kill Butler until the week before. That was about the Wednesday before the murders happened. Cora Twombly said that Adams didn’t want Cole to be involved, so he was left out of those conversations. He was brought in when they realized they needed another person to keep watch.

Cora Twombly also testified about the day of the murders. She said that she pulled off on the side of the road and could see two people running between Butler’s car and a trailer. She did not specify who that was but later said she could see Grice and Butler struggling on the ground. She said she saw Grice’s arm moving up and down. She did not see a knife, but she said that she assumed Grice was stabbing Butler.

She said that the group knew a court-appointed supervisor would be with Butler. She was asked how she felt about it being Kelley. She said that the group wasn’t necessarily OK with it but that Kelley was helping Butler, and so, by association, she had to be killed.

Wednesday morning started with a cross examination of Paul Grice by Cullum's attorneys.

A major topic was whether or not Paul Grice is taking responsibility for the death of Jilian Kelley. Grice said he actually murdered Veronica Butler and said that the light came out of her eyes, and he fell to the ground. And he said Grandma Tifany (Adams) was walking around in a circle laughing.

During his Tuesday testimony, Grice said that he felt like he was set up to kill both Butler and Kelley. He testified that he stabbed Butler first and then was in the back of the trailer with the women’s bodies being driven to the burial site. He said that he panicked because Kelley’s eyes started to flutter because he couldn’t tell if she was alive or if it was the bumpy roads. He said that he thought about how scared she would be if they put her in the freezer alive, so if she woke up, he decided that he would stab her.

Grice said he wasn’t sure that Kelley was not dead in the trailer and brought up how her eyes were fluttering, so he stabbed her. He added that Kelley did not fight back.

Cullum's attorney said that according to the medical examiner's report that cut wounds from Grice paralyzed Kelley from the neck down, which would be why she did not fight back.

Cullum's attorney and Grice continued to argue back and forth about who killed Kelley. Cullum's attorney argued the only wounds Kelley had were from the knife Grice used to kill Butler.

Grice also stated that those facts haunt him and that he's had a hard time sleeping.

Another topic discussed was Grice admitted to lying in his first two interviews with OSBI. He said he may have been drunk during the first interview because he was drinking a lot during that time.

He also said he told his wife about the murders after they happened. Cullum's attorney asked if there was any agreement that his wife wouldn't be charged or have to testify.

Grice said there has not been a discussion regarding that and the only agreement is about potentially getting rid of the death penalty.

Grice testified that God’s Misfits started as a religious group that evolved. God’s Misfits allegedly contained about 15 people, but four of them, Adams, Cullum, Cora Twombly and Grice, were a subgroup, and the others were not involved in the planning or the murders of Kelley and Butler.

Grice said during his testimony that he connected with Adams after she shared the allegations that her grandchildren were being abused. He said that he was abused as a child. Grice said that Adams used Bible verses and took them out of context, which he fell for. He also said that he did not have any proof of the abuse and that it was his fault for not asking for more proof. However, the people accused of the allegations were minors, so the court documents would have been sealed.

Grice also testified that he had lied to God’s Misfits, saying he had previously killed somebody. He said that he told them that he was part of a different group that protected children from sexual abuse and that would “take care” of people. Grice said this eventually evolved, and the first time Adams asked him if he would help kill Butler, he told her he would think about it. When asked again, he said that the narrative had grown and agreed to it.

The owner of the property where the bodies were found took the stand, as well as three Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents.

The property owner, Jamie Beasley, The next witness called on Wednesday was Jamie Beasley, the owner of the property where the bodies were buried in a freezer. Court documents say prepaid phones, bought by Adams, last transmitted a signal near the Twombly’s home and Beasley’s property.

Beasley discussed how Adams and Cullum came to his property on what turned out to be the day before the murders. He said they asked to cut down some trees and offered to bury the trees and some concrete on his land.

He said he did not know exactly where the hole would be dug to bury those things. He had an idea where they would dig the hole, but it was not where the bodies were eventually found.

Beasley said that after he learned of the murders, he became increasingly worried about what Cullum had done on the property. Beasley said he did not take those concerns to law enforcement out of fear.

In court documents released by Texas County court clerk Renee Ellis Dec. 18, Cole Twombly waived his right to a preliminary hearing and took a plea deal of Life Suspended all but 30 years. His next court date is May 7, 2025.

•Information from KFOR Oklahoma City and KSN Wichita.