On a quiet Saturday morning in March 2024, Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley drove across the Oklahoma state line to pick up children for a birthday party. They never made it. Instead, their disappearance sparked a massive manhunt that eventually pulled back the curtain on a bizarre, dangerous group calling themselves God's Misfits.
At the center of it all was Tifany Adams, a 54-year-old grandmother who looked like any other local in the Oklahoma Panhandle but was allegedly the mastermind behind a cold-blooded execution. Honestly, when the details started coming out, even seasoned investigators were shaken. This wasn't just a "custody dispute" gone wrong; it was a calculated, religiously motivated ambush that involved burner phones, stun guns, and a plan to use an anvil as a murder weapon.
Who Exactly are God's Misfits?
If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably heard the name God's Misfits and wondered if it was a cult or some kind of biker gang. It’s actually a small, self-proclaimed anti-government group with a religious bent. They didn't have a massive compound or thousands of followers. They were just a handful of people—neighbors, really—who met regularly at each other's homes in Texas County, Oklahoma.
The group included Tifany Adams, her boyfriend Tad Bert Cullum, and a married couple named Cole and Cora Twombly. While the group’s founder, a man who goes by "Squirrel," later tried to distance the larger organization from these four individuals, the arrest affidavits paint a picture of a tight-knit circle that believed they were on a "mission."
The group's ideology was a toxic mix of extreme anti-government sentiment and religious justification. They didn't just want to win a legal battle; they felt they were operating outside of—and above—the law.
The Motive: A Bitter Custody War
The tragedy started with a fight over two kids, aged 6 and 8. Tifany Adams was the paternal grandmother. Veronica Butler was the mother. For years, they had been locked in a "problematic custody battle," to put it lightly.
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At the time of the murders, the children’s father (Adams’ son) was in a rehabilitation facility hours away. Butler was only allowed supervised visits on Saturdays. Jilian Kelley, a 39-year-old mother of four and wife of a local pastor, was the court-authorized supervisor for that particular Saturday.
Why the violence escalated
- A Looming Hearing: Butler had a court date coming up in April 2024.
- Favorable Odds: Her attorney believed she was likely to win unsupervised visitation, which was Tifany Adams' worst nightmare.
- The Allegations: Adams had previously made claims of abuse against Butler, though investigators found these were largely a strategy to keep the children away from her.
When the legal system didn't give Adams the result she wanted, she and the other God's Misfits members decided to take matters into their own hands.
The Ambush and the "Anvil" Plan
This wasn't a crime of passion. It was a military-style operation. Investigators found that Adams had purchased five stun guns and several "burner" cellphones in the weeks leading up to the murders. She even searched the internet for the "pain levels" of stun guns.
Wait, it gets weirder.
A teenage witness—Cora Twombly’s own daughter—told authorities that the group had originally planned to kill Butler back in February. The plan? They were going to throw an anvil through Butler’s windshield while she was driving. They figured it would look like a freak accident, since anvils supposedly "fall off work trucks" all the time in rural Oklahoma. That plan failed because Butler didn't leave her house that day.
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On March 30, they didn't miss. The Twomblys allegedly used their vehicle to block the road, forcing Butler and Kelley to stop. That’s where the "bloody confrontation" happened. Police later found Butler’s glasses in the road near a broken hammer and blood splattered on the pavement.
The Grim Discovery in the Pasture
For two weeks, the community held out hope. But on April 14, 2024, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) made a discovery that ended those hopes. The bodies of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley were found buried inside a chest freezer, ten feet underground, in a remote pasture rented by Tad Cullum.
It was a professional-grade burial. Cullum had used heavy equipment to dig the hole just days before the women disappeared. He then filled it back in and covered it with hay to hide the fresh dirt.
In late 2025, Tifany Adams finally faced the music. She pleaded no contest to the murders. This plea means she didn't admit guilt but accepted the punishment as if she had. Most legal experts, like Mark Eiglarsh, noted that this move likely helped her avoid the death penalty, but it ensures she will spend the rest of her life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
Where the Case Stands in 2026
As of early 2026, the legal fallout is still settling. While Tifany Adams is already serving her life sentence, her accomplices have had varying fates.
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- Tad Cullum: His trial is currently slated for mid-to-late 2026. Because he didn't take the initial plea deal that Adams did, he faces a potentially different outcome in court.
- The Twomblys: Cora Twombly eventually began cooperating with authorities. In mid-2025, she provided chilling testimony about the "mission" and how the group attempted to destroy evidence after the fact.
- Paul Grice: A fifth person, Paul Grice, was eventually charged as well. He admitted that Adams asked him to kill Butler and even used Bible verses to try and convince him it was the "right" thing to do.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Case
People often think this was a random act of cult violence. It wasn't. It was a targeted hit fueled by a grandmother's obsession with control. The "God's Misfits" label provided a flimsy moral cover for what was essentially a brutal double homicide.
Another misconception is that Jilian Kelley was a target. By all accounts, she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. When the teenage witness asked why Kelley had to die, Cora Twombly reportedly said she "wasn't innocent" because she supported Butler. It’s a chilling reminder of how "us vs. them" mentalities can lead to total depravity.
Practical Lessons from a Tragedy
While this case is an extreme outlier, it highlights some very real issues regarding high-conflict custody battles and the radicalization of small groups. If you're looking for a takeaway from this tragedy, consider these points:
- Take Threats Seriously: In high-conflict cases, "crazy" talk about anvils or "missions" is often a red flag for actual violence. Documentation is vital.
- Vetting Supervisors: Court-ordered supervision is meant to keep parents safe, but even the supervisors (like Jilian Kelley) need to be aware of the environment they are walking into.
- Anti-Government Radicalization: Small, insular groups that claim religious or political "exemption" from the law can become echo chambers for violence.
The Oklahoma Panhandle is a place of wide-open spaces and tight-knit communities. The story of Tiffany Adams and God's Misfits has left a scar there that won't heal anytime soon. For the families of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley, the focus now is on the children—the very people Tifany Adams claimed she was trying to "protect" while she destroyed their lives.
To stay updated on the upcoming 2026 trials of Tad Cullum and the remaining suspects, you can follow the Texas County Court dockets or local Oklahoma news outlets like NewsNation, which has provided some of the most consistent boots-on-the-ground reporting on this case.