Oklahoma Judge Orders Immediate Release Of Hugoton Murder Victim’s Autopsy Report

Editor’s Note: The information provided in this article is sensitive and graphic in nature. Discretion is advised.

The full autopsy report for one of the victims of a double-homicide that took place in Oklahoma last March was released November 5, and provides details of how victim Jilian Kelley was killed. The report was mistakenly released to the public by the Medical Examiner’s office due to an email scheduling error. A judge in Texas County ordered November 20, the immediate release of Veronica Butler’s autopsy report during a hearing in Guymon.

The State filed a motion November 18,  to endorse Paul Grice and Cora Twombly as additional witnesses for the State, meaning they have agreed to testify against the other three defendants. Six additional witnesses were named in a motion filed with Texas County Clerk Renee Ellis November 18, including Guymon Tractor Supply employee Leesa Johnson, Guymon Big R Standard Supply employees Eric Mayorga and Craig Parks, Guymon Walmart employee Esai Marquez, and PTCI employees Kenny Deford and Isaac Bledsoe.

Kelley, 39, and Veronica Butler, 27 - both of Hugoton - went missing March 30 and were found deceased in rural Texas County, Okla., April 14. 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; Tad Cullum, 43, and Tifany Adams, 54, were arrested in early April and Paul Grice, 31, was arrested a few days later after turning himself in. Grice and Cora Twombly have since waived their rights to a speedy trial and Grice was moved from Guymon to Woodward. He has since been returned to Guymon.

The report details the nature of the murders, allegedly committed by Cullum and Grice. In Kelley’s case, Medical Examiner Celia Cobb of Oklahoma City performed the examinations April 15-18 and noted seven stab wounds and two incised wounds to the back of the victim’s head and neck, one to the cheek, one to the jaw, one to the left temple, two to the left shoulder and two defensive wounds to the hands. Additionally, two stun gun marks were observed to the back and neck.

“In my opinion, based on the circumstances surrounding death and the findings at autopsy, Jilian Kelley died as a result of multiple sharp force trauma consisting of nine (9) stab wounds and seven (7) incised wounds, (16 total sharp force injuries). Two (2) of the incised wounds were consistent with Mrs. Kelley having attempted to defend herself with incised wounds to her left index finger and right thumb,” Cobb wrote in her case summary.

In Butler’s case, Cobb noted 30 sharp force wounds.

“In my opinion, based on the circumstances surrounding death and the findings at autopsy, Veronica Butler died as a result of multiple sharp force trauma consisting of nine (9) stab wounds and twenty-one (21) incised wounds (30 total sharp force injuries),” Cobb said. “Ten (10) of the incised wounds were consistent with Ms. Butler having attempted to defend herself, including her having grabbed the knife blade with her right hand, resulting in her fingers being sliced multiple times. She additionally sustained a blunt force laceration to the back of the head.”

The bodies of Kelley and Butler were buried in a freezer four-and-a-half to eight feet below the surface in a field near Texhoma, Okla., and covered with a concrete slab. The freezer containing the remains was transported to Oklahoma City in a covered trailer belonging to the Guymon Fire Department.

Cobb added that both women died quickly due to the nature of their injuries and were deceased before buried in the freezer. The report says the manner of death for both was homicide.

The next hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m., December 17, in Guymon.