KILLER GRANDMA "GOD'S MISFITS" CULT MEMBER MURDERS 2 YOUNG MOMS ESCAPES DEATH PENALTY

Summary

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

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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.

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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).

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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)

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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

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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.

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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.

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Transcript

[Lauren Conlon]

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[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

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[Teen Witness]

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[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

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[Nancy Grace]

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[Irv Brandt]

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[Nancy Grace]

For your free quote go to selectquote.com that's selectquote.com selectquote we shop you save. Full details on example [e-mail] crime stories with Nancy Grace. In the last days, the so called Killer Granny, a God's Misfits cult member, escapes the death penalty in the brutal murder of two Kansas moms. I'm Nancy Grace, this is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. A grandma who was part of a gang called God's Misfits has just escaped the DP the death penalty after she confesses she in cold blood murdered two young moms in Oklahoma. Tiffany Adams, AKA Killer Granny pled no contest. Yeah, no contest. Now defense attorneys will tell you that's not guilty. Yes it is. It is viewed as a guilty plea. They just don't have the backbone to put it mildly, to stand up in court and say yes, I did it. They are sentenced as a guilty plea and it is viewed as a guilty plea under the law. Tiffany Adams pled no contest. No low contender on two counts of first degree murder, two counts of unlawful removal of a dead body, two counts of unlawful desecration of a human corpse, and will serve life without parole. I will never forget what happened to Veronica Butler, just 27. Jillian Kelly in her 30s. Two young innocent moms on a lonely highway. This is what happened.

[Teen Witness]

The planned meeting place for Veronica Butler to pick up her children was a closed gas station near the intersection of Oklahoma State Highway 95 and road lift. The area is flat and desolate. There are no trees or homes nearby, as well as no traffic cameras. This is where Melissa and Joey Padilla, relatives of Veronica Butler, found her car after the mom didn't arrive at a birthday party for one of her children. The car was abandoned and there were pools of blood nearby, so they called police. Investigators now say they believe Butler and Jillian Kelly were lured to the location, arriving around 9:40am Besides the pools of blood, officers found Butler's glasses on the ground near a broken hammer. Kelly's purse was also found. Inside was a gun magazine, but no weapon. Police say the women were forced into another vehicle. The women's phones stopped sending signals at.

[Nancy Grace]

9:42Am Only that official court documents seemingly reveal that this was not their first attempt on the young mom. With me, an all star panel to make sense of what we are learning. So stunning and chilling details emerging. First, straight out to Lauren Conlon, investigative journalist, host of the Outlier podcast. Lauren, thank you for being with us. You've been on the case from the very beginning. I can't believe what I am seeing in this affidavit. A granny, a killer granny. Suspect uses a bulldozer, guns. Lauren, what's happening?

[Lauren Conlon]

This is so tragic. It came out in these affidavits that this was not the first attempt to take Veronica Butler's life. They were planning to do something in February where an anvil would go through her windshield as this was very common in the area. They would fall off construction trucks and they believed.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, please tell me you aren't somehow victim of Stockholm syndrome because anvils don't just fall out of the air into people's cars. I don't care where it is. I mean, hold on right there. Cheryl McCollum is joining me, founder, director of the Cold Case Research Institute, forensics expert. As a matter of fact, she's joining me right now from her squad car. Cheryl, host of hit new podcast Zone 7. I know maybe in crazy granny's world, an anvil falling from the sky or off a truck into the young mom's car sounds reasonable. It's not, Cheryl. It's not reasonable.

[Cheryl McCollum]

It is not reasonable. You're talking about something that is so heavy, there's no way it's going to fall off a truck. And if it does, it's simply going to land 3ft onto the pavement, not up 5 to 6ft through her windshield. So again, when you're talking about plotting and planning a murder and your baseline is Wile E. Coyote, you've got problems from the get go. This Was asinine at best.

[Nancy Grace]

Can I ask you something, Cheryl McCollum? I know you're comparing them to a and they're playing to a Wile E. Coyote plot, but these two women are dead. Six children between them. And I don't care what anybody says, including a shrink that will tell me how wrong I am. There is nothing that can replace your mother. Nothing. Amen. And it may be a far fetched plan. It may be. But these ladies are dead. Not just the young mom, who is her right there. Just going to throw a birthday party for her children. That's veronica Butler. Just 27 years old. But then you've got the other lady, the church secretary, preacher wife. She's dead too. Jillian kelly. In her 30s, the prime of her life. She was just doing a ride along to facilitate the visitation and the pickup of mom's babies. Six children without a mom. So I don't care how zany their plot is, there were pools of blood left around this young mom's car because in my mind of killer Granny, may she rot in hell. And let me point out, as Kelly Hyman will tell me pretty quickly, they're innocent until proven guilty. And you can all quit telling me that on Twitter. I know that. I know they're not guilty yet. But I guarantee you they will be because of a track a mile wide. Isn't that right, Lauren Conlon?

[Kelly Hyman]

A mile wide.

[Nancy Grace]

Tell me about the evidence we're learning out of this warrant right here.

[Lauren Conlon]

Okay, so this is crazy. So first and foremost, they got a search warrant on I believe it was March 31st for Tiffany Adams phone. So they searched through her phone and they find searches that read taser, pain level, where to buy a gun at different gun shops in the area. And then where to get prepaid cell phones and then how to to get someone out of their house. Now in the meantime, her boyfriend.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

Stop.

[Nancy Grace]

You know what? You're just like spouting all this damning information like it's a fire hydrant. Lauren Conlon. Too much too fast. Okay, I'm drinking from the fire hydrant here. You said look, the pain level of a taser. That was the mother in law's, I should say Google search. She searched the pain level of a taser.

[Lauren Conlon]

She did. She searched pain level.

[Nancy Grace]

I got to go now to and eminent guest joining me, Dr. Kendall Crowns. He is the chief medical examiner in Tarrant County. That's Fort Worth, near Dallas. Lecturer University Texan Christian University medical school. And he is joining us right now from his office at the medical examiners doctor Crowns, thank you for being with us. I had a good friend at CNN who actually tasered himself and a good friend at Court TV that followed up on it to make sure it really hurt. God rest his soul. Michael Christian. So, Dr. Kittle crowns, tell me how a taser works. And this is what was the plan? This is the plan to use on two unarmed moms a taser. How does it work and how badly does it hurt? Dr. Crowns?

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

So conductive electronic devices like taser work by injecting prongs into your skin and then using the skin's moisture to conduct electricity across it and then send a large amount of electricity into your body, basically shocking you. The shock itself causes a tremendous amount of pain, causes you to spasm and then collapse.

[Nancy Grace]

See, that's why I have to work with you so much before I could put you on the stand. Conductive electronic device. What are you talking about? Can you dummy down for me, please? Just saying, regular people talk how a taser works and the amount of pain, what can we compare it to?

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

Conductive electronic devices is what a taser is. Taser themselves prefer you call it a conductive electronic device because not all conductive electronic devices are tasers. It's like a Xerox machine is a copier, et cetera. So it is basically electricity being forced into your body, high amounts of electricity. It'd be like you putting a fork into a wall socket. You get the same kind of experience from that. Except the wall socket doesn't cause as much electricity to go through you as a taser does.

[Nancy Grace]

As a general rule, a taser start with a baseline of 50 volts of electricity. 50,000 volts of electricity. What does that mean, Dr. Kendallkrans?

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

That's the high amount of electricity. It's higher than basically your standard current in your house. So it's a large amount of electricity being put into your body all at once.

[Nancy Grace]

Just think about it. Think about it. Cheryl McCollum, this evil mother in law was prepared to use 50,000 volts of electricity minimum on the victims. In this case two unarmed women. She didn't care if she caused that amount of pain.

[Cheryl McCollum]

But let's talk even more basic. In the beginning you've got four people and two women. It doesn't take a taser to control them. If you ambush two unsuspecting victims with four people, you're going to be able to control them fairly easily. I believe that the stun gun was for torture.

[Nancy Grace]

Crime stories with Nancy Grace. I will never forget what happened to These two beautiful young moms and this woman. The killer. Granny Adams is accused of being the mastermind behind the fatal stabbing of her own grandchildren's mother, Veronica Butler and her friend Jillian Kelly. Killer Granny Adams was a member of the anti government cult group God's Misfits. And this is what happened to those two beautiful moms. Kelly suffered nine stab wounds and seven cuts to her back and seven cuts to the back of her neck and head. She also suffered a fractured vertebra and damaged spinal cord when she was killed. Stun gun marks on her neck, cuts to her hand indicating she tried to defend herself. Her friend, 27 year old Veronica Butler, tragically killed in a very similar manner. Both women reported found in quote, pools of blood. Veronica suffered a total of 30 sharp force injuries including six sliced fingers consistent with attempting to defend herself. That's straight out of the autopsy report. And she was also found with stun gun marks to the back of her neck. The autopsies indicate both women were believed to have been killed before they were placed in a deep chest freezer. The freezer found under concrete slab and buried eight feet below the surface. Kelly Hyman, I mean this gang, which they call themselves God's Misfits, have left a trail a mile wide. The state's gonna have a field day with this.

[Kelly Hyman]

This is a horrible story for these young kids to lose their mother. And we always, when we look at things as why do people do this? What was their motive behind this? What was their reasoning behind this? That's, you know, key. And allegedly they were in some big family dispute, bitter dispute that left these beautiful kids without a mother. Ultimately Nancy, as you said, you are innocent until proven guilty. But there is allegedly a lot of evidence coming out that's going to make a strong case for the state.

[Nancy Grace]

I need to bring up the innocent till proven guilty part. What, what more do we know, guys? Straight out to Lauren Conlon. Guns, bulldozers, tasers, stun guns. What more do we know, Lauren? And all of this is to take out two innocent unarmed mothers?

[Lauren Conlon]

Yes. Let me stop you. There have been no guns found, just stun guns. So this is actually really interesting and I'm a bit confused. I came across, I think it was yesterday or the day before. It was on an outlet called the Oklahoman. And you have to pay for a lot of these articles. I did not pay, but I did find a little snippet where the medical examiner said I don't believe they were shot. And I'm going through all of these affidavits the arrest affidavits, all the probable cause, and I don't see any guns. And as Dave Mack said, Gillian Kelly had a pistol, magazine, and in her purse, but there were no guns. So all we have here is burner phones and stun guns. And then we have the equipment that I was going to get to. So, Tad Cullum, Tiffany's boyfriend, he rented some land about eight miles away from where their vehicle was initially found, Veronica and Jillian's. And he rented equipment like bulldozers and all these names that my son would know. Skid steers. He'd be much better than I am at this. And he ends up digging a hole in this property and then covering it with hay. And this area is the last place where the women's phones were actually pinged. This area and the property owner, I believe his name is Jamie Beasley, he had no idea what was going on. So when authorities send all those trucks to get the women to get the bodies, once they get the tip, he's crying. He's like, oh, my gosh, I had no idea. And just in complete and utter shock.

[Nancy Grace]

And Joining me, Cheryl McCollum, founder, director of Cold Case Research Institute and forensics expert. Cheryl, I can see all the digital fingerprint footprint adding up, placing the moms at this location and coincidentally, the same location where the burner phones were turned off. But I want to talk about the mag, the magazine, the gun magazine found in one of the victim's purses. There's no indication that either of the victims had a gun. And when I say a magazine, I'm talking about about a mag, not a clip. A mag feeds rounds into the gun chamber as it's being fired. So what do you make of a mag being found?

[Cheryl McCollum]

Not verified. A lot of information. They're playing this close to the vest, which they should. But, you know, let's say you are going with somebody to meet, you know, ex family members that they've been fighting with for nine years. Maybe somebody gave her something to, you know, protect herself. We don't know if this was her, you know, potential particle weapon or perpetrator. We don't know yet. And, you know, all we do know is there are pools of blood at the scene, a broken hammer. So was somebody shot? Was somebody hit in the head? Blunt force trauma? We don't know yet.

[Nancy Grace]

Guys, we are learning that a minor, we believe it to be a teenager girl has turned informant. Take a listen to this.

[Teen Witness]

The teenager told police that she had heard conversation among the adults, that Adams grandchildren were at risk. When they were with Butler, she told investigators that Adams had provided burner phones so that personal devices were not needed to communicate. The girl said she had seen two of the phones charging on her mother's nightstand stand. The day before the murders, Adam's boyfriend, Column 43, had asked the owner of the property he rented if he could do some work there with his skid steer, a kind of bulldozer. According to the owner's conversation with police, Colum reportedly said he wanted to cut down a tree, remove a stump and bury some concrete. The teen said she heard that her mother and stepfather blocked the road, diversity herding the women to where the others were waiting. When asked why Kelly had to die, her mother reportedly said because Kelly supported Butler, she wasn't innocent. The child asked Cora Twombly if they had put the bodies in a well. She was told something like that.

[Nancy Grace]

Wow. It's always difficult to put a child on the stand during a jury trial, but sometimes you have to. This teen girl revealing so much of what was going on in the home before the murders in the home of the suspects. Straight back out to Lauren Collins, joining us, investigative journalist and host of the Outlier. So a skid steer is a kind of bulldozer. Where were the two moms bodies found?

[Lauren Conlon]

So they were found by a dam in that rented area of the property. So I'm assuming that they were somewhat covered by this hay and the fresh dirt. I believe they called it the soil. And they were easy to find. I also, I wanna point something out as well, Nancy. Per the witness, Cora told her or her daughter, whoever the witness was, that things didn't go according to plan. This mission did not go according to plan. So I don't know exactly what that means, but I have a hunch it has something to do with a possible fifth suspect that hasn't been arrested. But that's just my take.

[Nancy Grace]

Joining me Right now, former U.S. marshals Service, International Investigations Branch, author of Flying Solo on Amazon. Irv Brandt joining us. Irv Brandt, did you hear what Lauren Conlon just said? And I've read it in the official court docs that this gang, God's Misfits, said they were on a mission. They call murdering these two young moms a mission. What? A mission from hell?

[Irv Brandt]

That's exactly what it was, Nancy. These people are obviously deranged. They're not criminal masterminds. They had previous murder plan that didn't come, didn't pan out. Then they go in to this elaborate plan using stun guns and a bulldozer. But they leave a trail a mile wide for police investigators to follow. Nancy, I. I've never seen anything like this. They might as well have written out a confession and signed it and sent it to the police station.

[Nancy Grace]

Soon after the bodies were found, police arrested Butler's children's paternal grandmother, Tiffany Adams. Well, that's a mother in law from hell. Along with her boyfriend, Tad Cullum, alongside Cole Twombly and Cora Twombly, all of them charged with murder. But in the last days, this autopsy speaks volumes. The full autopsy report for the second Kansas mom buried in a freezer in a cow pasture after being reported missing on a road trip just released. Much of the medical examiner's deductions is found in this phrase, quote. Given the extent of Ms. Butler's injuries, including defects to both of her internal jugular veins with resultant exsanguination bleeding out, it is my opinion her death was very quick and likely occurred before she was placed in inside the freezer and buried. The autopsy goes on to say, quote. This opinion is additionally supported by the fact her body appeared to have remained exactly how it was placed inside the freezer. Okay, what does that mean? Was her body folded or crumpled up? The autopsy on Veronica was released about two weeks after the report on Jillian Kelly, the other mom missing on the road trip. That report revealed even more details about her death. What more do we know about that fateful day and the people now charged with murder? Earlier, I think we heard Cheryl McCollum compare it to Wile E. Coyote, their plot. And I admonished her because we've got two dead moms. But actually, it does sound like some. Something out of the Apple Dumpling Gang. Except nobody ever died in those movies where they've been watching way too many movies with the burner phones and the Rendezvous Point and the bull. I mean, how much more obvious can it be, Irv Brandt than to rent a bulldozer or to bring over your bulldozer, Nancy?

[Irv Brandt]

I mean, I can't even give you a reasonable explanation for their line of thinking. This is just not. It's. It's like Cheryl Mack said, it's something out of a cartoon trying to drop an Acme anvil on their head. I. I don't know where these people came up with their ideas when they started researching it online. That amounts to, you know, someone saying, well, I want to poison someone, then doing it, you know, researching it on their computer, then ordering poison off of Amazon to carry out the murder. I. I can't give you an explanation, Nancy. I'm sorry.

[Teen Witness]

The teen told police that she was told that her mother and stepfather would be gone that Saturday. When the teen woke up, she was told they were going to be on a mission. And as she was told, the Twomblys were not home when she woke up around 10am she says the couple came back around noon in their pickup and a flatbed pickup owned by a relative. The teen says she was told to clean the interior of the Chevrolet pickup. When she asked what had happened, she was told that things had not gone as planned but that they would not have to worry about Butler again. At the same time that the Twomblys arrived home, Tiffany Adams went to pick up her grandchildren at the home of the other couple who hosted God's Misfits meetings. The affidavit said.

[Nancy Grace]

Joining me an all star panel, Cheryl McCollum. Do did you hear that they used.

[Cheryl McCollum]

Their own vehicle, they used their own computer, they used their own cell phones to send text messages. They spoke in front of witnesses again for four people to plot and plan. They made such severe mistakes. I agree with Irv. They might as well have just done a confession from the get go because it was obvious who did it. You and I talked to Nancy about, you know, the victims left a town of 1200 people to go to a town of 281 people. Your suspect pool was people right off the bat.

[Nancy Grace]

According to the witness that has emerged, this teen girl was told the mother, her I guess boyfriend and two others who claim to be quote, God's misfits were on a quote mission. They were, I'm reading from the affidavit, they were going to be on a mission mission. She Woke up around 10am they all came back around noon. The defendants in a pickup and a flatbed owned by a relative. And she, the teen girl was told to clean the interior of the Chevrolet pickup. What does that mean? To me that means that at least one of these mothers was transformed, transported to a burial site in the Chevy pickup. When the girl asked what happened, she was told things had quote, not gone as planned but they would never have to worry about Butler, that being 27 year old mom Veronica Butler Again. At the same time Tiffany Adams goes to pick up the grandchildren elsewhere, another couple's home who hosts God's Misfits meetings. What does that say? To me that tells me out to Kelly Hyman, veteran trial lawyer, that there are other people, the ones that were babysitting the children during all of this, that knew about the plan and there are going to be state's Witnesses, along with this teen girl. As if I don't have enough information and enough evidence anyway. Now these babysitters, the other God's misfits, they're going to be witnesses or they could always be charged for aiding and abetting. And I don't think they want to go to the pen for that.

[Kelly Hyman]

You bring up a really good point. Yes. So if people overheard this, they could potentially be the state's witness. And what that means is they will testify in the trial of saying what they've heard or potentially, if they could potentially be charged with aiding and abetting and assisting in this. In fact, if they don't, if they help assist with this murder and stuff like that. So it'll be interesting to see what transpires in the coming next days and who turns as a state witness or potentially are there going to be additional charges for people who overheard stuff and were potentially involved in this as well?

[Nancy Grace]

Back to Dr. Kendall Crowns joining us out of Tarrant County, Fort Worth, from the Medical Examiner's office. Dr. Crowns, again, thank you for being with us. Were trying to determine whether the manner of death was shooting or stabbing. I know the bodies had been buried haphazardly. Would you be able to tell and how the manner and cause of death?

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

Certainly you'd be able to determine the cause of death based on the injury patterns. Even though they had been buried, it won't take away the damage to the body, especially to the skeletal system, kind of. And then the manner of death would be fairly easy. The fact that they've been buried out in the middle of nowhere, they're obviously been killed. So it's going to be a homicide. So determining between gunshot wounds, stabbings, or beatings, it would just be looking at the injury patterns on the body based on the information you already had. Pools of blood, broken hammer. The fact that they were talking about using an anvil in the first place makes me feel like they've probably beaten these individuals to death using a hammer after they stunned them.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay. You know, Dr. Kimmel crowns, I understand what you're saying now. You believe there's a very strong potential of the two victims being beaten dead with a hammer. And why do you say that?

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

Because there's a broken hammer at the scene, there's pools of blood. And they had been talking about doing blunt force trauma to the individuals in the first place using an anvil. So it doesn't sound like they had planned to use guns all along, that they kind of planned to use blunt force trauma. So makes me think that they used the stun guns to kind of subdue them and then just beat them to death with a hammer.

[Nancy Grace]

You know Dr. Kendall Crowns I was thinking gun because of the amount of blood, pools of blood there. And I attributed the hammer handle to breaking the windshield because a witness stated she had driven by. It was around 10am the moms left for their journey a 45 minute drive around 9am and at 10am A female witness drives by and sees their vehicle and sees a window on the driver's side busted out. Now I attributed the discovery of the hammer handle to breaking out the window. But your theory makes a lot more sense to me. Plus I'm not hearing about any guns being registered to the defendants, although I find that really hard to believe. But that said, what about it Sheryl.

[Cheryl McCollum]

McCollum to why the glasses would be on the ground large pools of blood. Nobody in the vicinity heard a gunshot. It also would, you know to me goes back to my theory. They were tortured. This was anger. She didn't look up stun guys. She looked up the pain level. This was very personal. They have been fighting for almost a decade over those children and they were attacked. I'm going to say it again. This didn't take four people. This was a deliberate gang ambush.

[Nancy Grace]

Killer granny suspects bloody ambush on two unarmed Kansas moms on their way to a children's birthday party. And they apparently used tasers, burner phones, even a bulldozer to affect their plan. Joining me an all star panel. You were just hearing Cheryl McCollum. But now to Lauren Conlon, investigative journalist, host of the Outlier podcast. I want to hear what you have to say about the use of a hammer as the murder weapon. But also I found something buried in the affidavit and I found this really interesting. I want everybody on the panel to jump in. We find out that three prepaid cellular phones were purchased from Walmart in Oklahoma back on February 13th. That's how long they've been planning this since Feb13. This is what I found really interesting. All three of the burner phones were powered on and accessed cellular cellular network for the first time at columns residence so they can the le law enforcement can identify. The first time these idiots turned on the burner phone is basically inside their own home. Ding dong. They couldn't figure out that they are leaving a digital trail. They're turning on the cellular phones that were used to orchestrate this double murder. They turn it on for the first time in or near their own home. I mean they need to go back and watch Ocean's Eleven all over again. Lauren Collin, you were jumping in. What were you saying?

[Lauren Conlon]

Well, I can. I can provide some context to this as well, because while they appear to be extremely dumb criminals, obviously, I think there's an element to this, right, the farm element. I don't think that it's out of the ordinary that he would rent farm equipment or dig holes. Xyz. But using your own cell phones and turning these cell phones, these burner phones on at your own house. This goes to the fact that Tiffany Adams is actually very connected in that town. She runs and is responsible for the Cimmeron county gop. She's their chair. She was a former school board chair. She knows the sheriff's office. I mean, I think there was a quote where she had said, you know, I know the path and the judge takes to work. She knows everybody. And I believe that she thinks that she is untouchable. And people don't necessarily want to talk. The one judge that did speak, he was forced to resign the next day. So it's. It's really interesting. And I think that this woman in particular, Tiffany Adams, she holds a type of power that we are just going to be learning about.

[Nancy Grace]

Well, you know what? That calls for a change of venue. That won't be hard. You know, I'm still looking very carefully at this affidavit, and I want everybody to weigh in on this. The hole dug about 200 yards below a dam, filled back in and covered with hay. I mean, you could probably see that with a drive over from a helicopter, for Pete's sake. Did they not think cops were going to find that? I mean, Irv Brandt, I've seen many, many homicides. I've investigated many, tried many, covered many. But this is a plethora, a Pandora's box of evidence, Nancy.

[Irv Brandt]

That's exactly right. Like you, I've been doing this all my adult life, and I've never seen a case probably easier to solve, easier to prove. When we take it to you as the prosecuting attorney, you'd look at us and say, you got to be kidding me. You know, I can't believe this. Where's. Did they videotape themselves committing the crime? Did they post it on social media? They did just about everything else imaginable, you know, to say they did it. The confessions have got to be forthcoming, I would imagine, to the police.

[Nancy Grace]

Hey, Sal.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

Hank. What's going on? We haven't worked a case in years.

[Irv Brandt]

I just bought my car at Carvana, and it was so easy, too Easy.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

Think something's up?

[Irv Brandt]

You tell me. They got thousands of options, found a great car at a great price, and.

[Nancy Grace]

It got delivered the next day. It sounds like Carvana. Just makes it easy to buy your car, Hank.

[Lauren Conlon]

Yeah, you're right.

[Nancy Grace]

Case closed. Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Two beautiful young moms murdered and their bodies desecrated in such a horrible way. Oh, to be buried out in a field, a cow pasture, then covered with cement blocks. Oh, what they did to these women. And now killer granny escapes the dp. What do you think? What happened to these two moms, Veronica and Jillian? I want you to take a listen to this.

[Teen Witness]

The motive, according to investigators, is custody of Butler's two children. A custody battle has gone on for more than five years. Father wrangler Rickman, Tiffany Adams son was awarded custody of the children. But Rickman was confirmed to be in a rehabilitation facility in Oklahoma City at the time of the murders. Veronica Butler's custody arrangement allowed her supervised visitation with her children every Saturday. And reportedly, according to Butler's attorney, she was likely to be granted unsupervised visitation during an upcoming hearing. The affidavit states that Adams vehemently opposed this and went to great lengths to plan and purchase items used in Butler and Kelly's murders. It continues. Adam, Colum, Cole and Cora were willing to kidnap and murder two victims to limit visitation for Butler.

[Nancy Grace]

And isn't it true, guys, we're talking about Adams. We're talking about Tiffany Michelle Adams, age 54, who is the alleged evil mother in law, her who plotted this, who seems to think that she's the political boss of the county. I got news for her. Political boss or no, she's going down because of her own actions. And it's seemingly straight back out to Lauren Collin or anybody. Cheryl McCollum, you may know the answer to this. It seems as if earlier there were plans to take out a judge, another relative was concerned about the custody issue and was told that no need for concern there wouldn't. They would not have to worry about the custody battle much longer because, and I'm quoting from, from the affidavit, Adams, that's the grandma, the mother in law, quote, had it under control that she knew the path the judge walked to work and would take out Veronica at the drop off. Take out Veronica at the drop off. What about that?

[Cheryl McCollum]

On herself. She has told on herself. I think for the last nine years. I think there's probably been threats all over creation. And let me Tell you the most striking thing for me, this woman, the ex mother in law cannot stand Veronica. She has made that clear. Veronica's no good for the children. They're not safe with her. She probably doesn't cook and clean. She doesn't take care of them. They're only, you know, okay when they're in her custody. When Veronica did not meet pick that children up, especially on the daughter's birthday. Remember it was her birthday. She would have been the first person, Tiffany would have been the first person calling the court saying she's in contempt. I told y' all she was no good. I've got these children sitting here crying because their mama didn't show up. Is this baby's birthday. When she didn't do that, she didn't make that call pitching a fit. That told me right there she's involved.

[Nancy Grace]

Is nobody worried about discussion of killing a judge? Pops up in the affidavit because I'm looking right at it that we don't have to worry about custody anymore. Because Adams, that would be the mother in law, Tiffany Adams, quote, knew the path the judge walked to work. I mean, Sheryl McCollum, am I the only one seeing that? Were they going to kill a judge too?

[Cheryl McCollum]

It is telling you the links that she was going to go to Nancy, nothing was going to stop her from keeping those children away from Veronica. She was going to have every possible avenue stopped so that she could have these children. Nancy, she's supposedly so connected to the courts and to the police, but she has refused to go by any of the court's order. They've basically made her bulletproof for years. She has stopped the mama from seeing them for years. She has 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. That's how it looks, plain and simple.

[Nancy Grace]

There is the death penalty in Oklahoma. Kelly Hyman. There have to be special aggravating circumstances in order for a prosecutor to seek a death penalty. And those have to be clearly enunciated far prior to trial in writing. There has to be an announcement the state is going to seek the death penalty. And there is a very limited number of aggravating circumstances that will suffice. However, more than one body is one of those aggravating circumstances.

[Kelly Hyman]

Ultimately, that will be up to the state to make a determination on whether they believe that they can bring it based on the facts and evidence of the case. But there is a lot of evidence that is coming Out. And Nancy, to your point about the alleged, about the judge, that is very, very disconcerting because judges are the ones that preside over the case and they're the ones that make determinations. And so the fact that there is allegations of harming a judge, which is very disconcerting and very upsetting. But ultimately no one, no matter who you are, is above the law and people need to be held accountable. And ultimately that will be up to the jury of whether they're innocent or guilty in this case.

[Nancy Grace]

To Irv Brandt joining us, former US Marshal service and author Irv to think all of this was over what, every other weekend or Wednesday to Saturday versus Thursday to Saturday visitations and you know, the so called evil mother in law, evil granny killer suspect, she's the mother of the bio dad. So she would have access to the grandchildren every time he had visitation or you know, shared custody. So if he got the children half the time, she would have access to the children half of their lives. And in a divorce, you know, for a lot of people that's pretty good visitation. And all of this over what, a few days a month?

[Irv Brandt]

Nancy, I don't think the time had anything to do with it. I think to this woman this was obvious about obviously about control and she wanted complete control of when who was going to see those children and when they were going to see those children and what the circumstances were going to be. And she wasn't even going to allow a judge to dictate to her how to take care of these children because she said it. She'll take that judge out. She knows his path to the courthouse. So no, Nancy, it makes no sense other than the fact that the woman was wanted complete control over every action concerning those children.

[Nancy Grace]

To Dr. Kendall Crowns. Dr. Kendall Crowns your theory that a hammer was used to bludgeon the women dead, most likely. About the face and the head, the pain they would have endured preceding their death would have been unbearable.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

Correct? I mean, being tased or shocked with the electronic devices or electric devices, then being beaten with a hammer. Hammer isn't really efficient to kill someone because it's hard to break the skull with a hammer. So they would have to continually strike them multiple times, eventually fracturing the head.

[Nancy Grace]

A grandma has just escaped the death penalty after she confesses she in cold blood murdered two young moms in Oklahoma. Tiffany Adams pled no contest. Sometimes there just ain't no justice. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye friends.

[Lauren Conlon]

This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.