‘No trace’ of two Kansas women missing after drive to Oklahoma, investigators say
Fox News senior correspondent Alicia Acuna reports on the search for two Kansas women who vanished while driving to Oklahoma.
The bodies of two Kansas moms who were brutally murdered were found in a cow pasture inside a chest freezer, according to new court documents obtained by KFOR.
Oklahoma state investigators suspended the search for Veronica Butler 39, and Jilian Kelley 27, in April.
The pair were last seen on March 30 heading to pick up their children before their car was found abandoned near the Oklahoma-Kansas border, with foul play suspected, police said.
Search warrants filed in court May 15 detail that, after a two-day excavation of a burial site in a cow pasture, the bodies of Kelley and Butler were found in a chest freezer. The documents, however, did not provide further detail on the manner in which the women were killed, KFOR reported.
FIFTH ARREST MADE IN CONNECTION TO MURDERED KANSAS MOMS WHO DISAPPEARED WITHOUT A TRACE
Hugoton Assembly of God Pastor Tim Singer tells Fox News that the Jilian Kelley, left, and Veronica Butler, right, were heading Saturday to pick up Butler's children to bring them back to a birthday party in Hugoton, Kansas. (Texas County Sheriff's Office/Oklahoma Highway Patrol/Shutterstock)
Last month, investigators announced that Tad Bert Cullum, 43, Tifany Machel Adams, 54, Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, were taken into custody in connection to the women's disappearance.
A fifth suspect, Paul Grice, 31, was arrested shortly after the initial arrests were made.
According to court documents, Grice asked a witness how long DNA would last on clothing in the dirt, a hole 15 feet deep. It also stated that Grice asked the same witness if the witness knew "how to get a guy and his family" to Mexico.
The suspects charged in the killings of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation - Authorized Page/Facebook)
The warrants also reportedly indicated that data was recovered from multiple suspects' phones involved in the case that linked them to the murders.
The four belonged to a religiously affiliated anti-government group called "God's Misfits," Fox News Digital previously reported. It was unclear if Grice was involved in the anti-government group.
Adams, one of the women arrested, is reportedly the grandmother of Butler's children. Court records revealed that Adams was involved in a custody dispute with Butler's children. The children’s father is in a rehabilitation facility.
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The document said the custody battle involving Butler began in February 2019 "with many hearings and court appearances" and in the weeks leading up to her death, "motions were filed requesting extended visitation for Butler."
Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Christina Coulter contributed to this report.
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