Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: Killer Grandma "God's Misfits" Cult Member Murders 2 Young Moms Escapes Death Penalty
Air Date: January 10, 2026
Podcast by: iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

Episode Overview

This riveting episode, hosted by Nancy Grace, explores the harrowing case of Tiffany Adams—a grandmother and member of the fringe cult "God's Misfits"—who orchestrated and executed the brutal murders of two young moms, Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelly, in rural Oklahoma. Adams, nicknamed "Killer Granny," pleaded no contest to first-degree murder, escaping the death penalty and receiving life without parole. The episode dissects the chilling evidence, bizarre murder plot, cult influence, and the devastating impact on the families involved, particularly the six children left motherless.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Crime and Its Players

• Tiffany Adams aka Killer Granny: Cult member, grandmother to Butler’s children, plotted the murders.
• Victims:
  • Veronica Butler (27): Mother of two, embroiled in a prolonged custody dispute.
  • Jillian Kelly (30s): Church secretary and preacher's wife, joined to support Butler during a supervised child custody visitation.
• Accomplices: Adams’ boyfriend Tad Cullum, Cole & Cora Twombly (cult affiliates).

2. The Murder Plot

• Premeditation and Failed Attempts
  • Initial murder attempt in February involved trying to drop an anvil onto Butler’s car (04:31, Lauren Conlon).
  • Bizarre, cartoonish planning compared to Wile E. Coyote (05:35, Cheryl McCollum; 24:11, Irv Brandt).
• Murder Day Sequence
  • Victims lured to an isolated gas station (03:03, Teen Witness).
  • Crime scene: Abandoned car, pools of blood, broken eyeglasses, broken hammer, Kelly’s purse with a gun magazine (03:03).
  • Forced abduction and murder via stun guns, torture, and bludgeoning.

3. Evidence of Brutality

• Stun/Taser Use:
  • Adams searched “pain level of a taser.” Plan was to incapacitate and possibly torture victims (07:46, Lauren Conlon; 11:45, Cheryl McCollum).
• Autopsy Findings:
  • Kelly: Nine stab wounds, seven cuts, fractured vertebra, spinal cord damage, defensive injuries (12:14, Nancy Grace).
  • Butler: 30 sharp force injuries, six defensive wounds, both had stun gun marks (12:14).
  • Both placed in a chest freezer, buried under a concrete slab eight feet underground (12:14, 20:08).
• Murder Weapon:
  • Hammer theorized as the instrument of death (29:00, Dr. Kendall Crowns; 31:19, Cheryl McCollum).
  • Dr. Crowns: “They used the stun guns to kind of subdue them and then just beat them to death with a hammer.” (29:58)

4. "God's Misfits" Cult & Motive

• Cult Influence:
  • Anti-government cult with controlling beliefs; meetings hosted in member homes.
  • Idea of being on a “mission” to resolve custody by murder (20:51, Lauren Conlon; 21:23, Irv Brandt).
• Motive:
  • Longstanding custody battle over Butler's children.
  • Adams allegedly obsessed with keeping Butler away from her grandchildren.
  • Plot also included plans to “take out a judge” if custody hearing didn’t go their way (39:47, Cheryl McCollum; 41:15).
  • “All we have here is burner phones and stun guns. And then we have the equipment… bulldozers…” (15:24, Lauren Conlon)
  • “This was obviously about control…” (44:10, Irv Brandt)

5. Cover-Up, Errors, and Digital Trail

• Digital Surveillance:
  • Burner phones purchased months ahead, but activated at the defendants’ residences, leaving a clear digital trail (33:47, Nancy Grace; 34:55, Lauren Conlon).
• Physical Evidence:
  • Bodies buried with construction equipment rented by Cullum; location easy to spot, covered in fresh hay and concrete (20:08, Lauren Conlon; 34:55, Nancy Grace).

6. Informants and Witnesses

• Teenage Informant:
  • A minor (relative of the suspects) gave critical insider information about the plot and execution (“They called it a mission... ‘it didn’t go according to plan’…”) (18:34, Teen Witness; 24:53).
  • The teen cleaned blood from the pickup used to transport the bodies.
• Other Potential Witnesses:
  • Cult meeting babysitters identified as possible witnesses or accomplices (27:58, Kelly Hyman).

7. Legal Fallout

• Guilty Plea:
  • Adams pled no contest, equated to a guilty plea, receiving life without parole.
• Death Penalty Avoided:
  • Oklahoma law permits death penalty under certain aggravating circumstances (multiple victims). Discussion on prosecution’s decision not to pursue it (42:00, Nancy Grace; 42:35, Kelly Hyman).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Killer Granny Adams is accused of being the mastermind behind the fatal stabbing of her own grandchildren's mother…”
  — Nancy Grace (12:14)

• “When your baseline is Wile E. Coyote, you’ve got problems from the get-go. This was asinine at best.”
  — Cheryl McCollum (05:35)

• “She searched the pain level of a taser… That was the mother-in-law’s Google search.”
  — Nancy Grace (08:16)

• “Taser… is basically electricity being forced into your body, high amounts of electricity. It’d be like you putting a fork into a wall socket…”
  — Dr. Kendall Crowns (10:25)

• “There is nothing that can replace your mother. Nothing. Amen.”
  — Nancy Grace (06:03)

• “They might as well have written out a confession and signed it and sent it to the police station.”
  — Irv Brandt (21:23)

• “This woman… she holds a type of power that we are just going to be learning about.”
  — Lauren Conlon (34:55)

• “She has refused to go by any of the court’s order. They’ve basically made her bulletproof for years. She stopped the mama from seeing them for years. She refused to do what the court tells her to do. And when it looked to her that she could no longer troll the court or the victim, she killed her.”
  — Cheryl McCollum (41:15)

• “This was control. She wasn’t even going to allow a judge to dictate to her… how to take care of these children…”
  — Irv Brandt (44:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Case Introduction & Charge Details – 01:04 to 03:03
• Crime Scene Description – 03:03 to 04:31
• Failed Initial Murder Plot – 04:31 to 06:03
• Panel Introductions and Initial Commentary – 04:51 to 07:46
• Affidavit Evidence, Searching Taser Pain – 07:46 to 10:25
• Medical Examiner on Stun Devices & Injury – 09:37 to 12:14
• Autopsy Revelations, Details of Attack – 12:14 to 14:28
• Motive and Cult Influence Discussed – 14:28 to 15:24, 37:40
• Digital Trail and Criminal Errors – 33:47 to 35:41
• Teen Witness/Informat’s Account – 18:34, 24:53
• Discussion on Death Penalty & Legal Decisions – 42:00 to 43:19
• Final Thoughts on Motive and Control – 43:19 to 45:38

Episode Tone & Delivery

Nancy Grace’s delivery is passionate and outraged, maintaining her trademark prosecutorial tone—shocked at the cruelty of the crimes and scathingly critical of the killers’ arrogance and blunders. The panelists—investigative journalists, forensic experts, and law enforcement veterans—offer sobering, sometimes blunt analysis with moments of incredulity over the sheer recklessness of the killers’ planning.

Conclusion: The Aftermath

Two mothers murdered over a custody dispute, their children left orphaned, and the so-called “Killer Granny” now facing a lifetime behind bars, but spared from Oklahoma’s death chamber. The case exposes how obsession and cult mentality can escalate to unthinkable violence, and how even the most careful plans unravel when arrogance and digital footprints collide.