God’s Misfits /// Part 1 /// 830

Summary

True Crime Garage: "God’s Misfits /// Part 1 /// 830" – Detailed Summary

Release Date: March 25, 2025

In the gripping first part of the "God’s Misfits" series, hosts Nic and the Captain delve deep into a harrowing true crime case involving Veronica Butler’s mysterious disappearance. Joined by special guest Lauren Conlin from Pop Crime TV and the Outlier podcast, the episode meticulously unpacks the tangled web of custody battles, religious extremism, and sinister plots that culminated in a chilling act of violence.

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Introduction to Veronica Butler

The episode opens with Lauren Conlin introducing Veronica Butler, a 27-year-old mother of two from Hugoton, Kansas. Veronica was portrayed as a dedicated single mother striving to provide a stable environment for her children while pursuing a career in healthcare. According to Conlin, "Veronica was a beautiful girl, with red hair... confident, kind, and sassy" (05:54).

Custody Battle with Wrangler Rickman

Veronica’s tumultuous relationship with Wrangler Rickman forms the backdrop of this case. After splitting in December 2018, their bitter custody battle intensified due to Wrangler’s legal troubles and substance abuse issues. By 2021, Veronica secured full custody and obtained a protective order against Wrangler, aiming to shield her children from his unstable lifestyle. Conlin emphasizes, "Veronica was working hard... trying to create a stable environment for them" (07:56).

The Role of Tiffany Adams and "God’s Misfits"

Wrangler’s mother, Tiffany Adams, emerges as a central figure wielding significant influence in the small community of Keys, Oklahoma. Tiffany, described as a powerful and intimidating presence, led a group called "God’s Misfits"—an anti-government religious faction with cult-like characteristics. Conlin explains, "Tiffany Adams was the leader of this group... a handful of people that seem to march to the beat of their own drums" (15:51). The group met bi-weekly, blending religious fervor with conspiracy theories, including sovereign citizen ideologies.

The Fateful Day: March 30, 2024

On March 30, 2024, Veronica planned to collect her children for a family birthday celebration. However, the scheduled handoff location—an isolated area near the Kansas-Oklahoma border—turned into the scene of a nightmare. Lauren recounts, "Veronica and Jillian Kelly... were supposed to meet Tiffany Adams off of road L and Highway 95" (25:20). When Veronica failed to show, her aunt discovered Veronica’s car abandoned with disturbing signs: blood stains, a broken hammer, glasses, and kitty litter intended to obscure evidence (27:52).

Initial Investigation and Rising Suspicion

Police found the abandoned vehicle and immediately suspected foul play. Despite Jillian Kelly being the court-appointed supervisor, her magazine was found at the scene, but no firearm was present. Conlin highlights the peculiarity of the situation: "Who would leave a scene like that? It appears somebody tried to absorb the blood like a dumbass" (34:24). Law enforcement’s investigation revealed that both Veronica and Jillian’s phones ceased transmitting signals around the time of the disappearance, triggering an endangered missing persons alert by 7 PM (35:11).

Unraveling the Plot Against Veronica

The breakthrough came when a confidential minor witness stepped forward, shedding light on a premeditated plan orchestrated by Tiffany Adams. Conlin reveals, "Tiffany Adams wanted to get rid of Veronica by having her boyfriend, Tad Cullum, and another friend throw a vise through Veronica’s windshield" (42:48). This act was intended to cause a vehicular accident, thereby eliminating Veronica under the guise of an unfortunate incident.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for Tiffany Adams’s phone on April 1st, uncovering alarming web searches for tasers, gun shops, and methods to force someone out of their house (42:42). The minor witness’s testimony was pivotal, indicating that Tiffany had explicitly planned Veronica's demise: "Veronica won’t be an issue anymore" (52:00).

Community Influence and Potential Corruption

Tiffany Adams’ extensive involvement in local governance—serving on hospital and school boards and as county GOP chair—raises questions about her influence and possible corruption. Conlin speculates, "Is it corruption? Does she have people in her back pocket?" (44:35). The intertwining of religious extremism and local power dynamics creates a complex environment where justice initially seemed compromised.

Conclusion and Anticipation for Part Two

As the investigation unfolds, the convergence of religious fanaticism, familial manipulation, and calculated violence paints a grim picture. Hosts Nic and the Captain, along with Lauren Conlin, set the stage for an in-depth exploration of the dark underbelly of "God’s Misfits," leaving listeners eagerly anticipating the continuation in part two. Conlin concludes, reflecting on the revelations, "This interview with the minor was shocking... what is this, some kind of cult?" (50:11).

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Notable Quotes:

• "Veronica was a beautiful girl, with red hair... confident, kind, and sassy." – Lauren Conlin (05:54)

• "Tiffany Adams was the leader of this group... a handful of people that seem to march to the beat of their own drums." – Lauren Conlin (15:51)

• "Who would leave a scene like that? It appears somebody tried to absorb the blood like a dumbass." – Lauren Conlin (34:24)

• "Tiffany Adams wanted to get rid of Veronica by having her boyfriend... throw a vise through Veronica’s windshield." – Lauren Conlin (42:48)

• "This interview with the minor was shocking... what is this, some kind of cult?" – Lauren Conlin (50:11)

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This episode of True Crime Garage masterfully weaves together personal narratives, investigative details, and expert insights to unravel a case that intertwines family conflict with extremist group dynamics. As the hosts and their guest navigate through the complexities of Veronica Butler’s disappearance, listeners are left on the edge of their seats, eager to uncover the full extent of the "God’s Misfits" conspiracy in the forthcoming installment.

Transcript

[Steve Buscemi]

Hi, this is Steve Buscemi. You know, the actor. Well, now I'm an actor and podcast host. From Piece of Work Entertainment and Campside Media in association with Olive Productions, comes.

[Nick]

Big Time, an Apple original podcast.

[Steve Buscemi]

Each episode follows the story of one misfit with big dreams who isn't afraid to bend a few rules or take.

[Nick]

A shortcut to get there.

[Captain]

Well, who steals bees?

[Nick]

I was duped.

[Steve Buscemi]

I shoot you in the leg. This is Big Time. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts. Sa Foreign. Welcome to True Crime Garage, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, thanks for listening. I'm your host, Nick, and with me, as always, is a man with a suggestion. If you're listening to this in the car, crank it up because this one's a real knuckle duster. Here is the captain.

[Captain]

Well, you're a real moose knuckle, so it's good to be seen and good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.

[Steve Buscemi]

Today we are drinking Marble Madness by the great brewers over at Central Standard Brewing. Marble Madness is a west coast pilsner, a style that falls somewhere between a classic German style pilsner and an assertive west coast ipa. Marble Madness is fermented, cool with lager, yeast and heavily hopped throughout. Plus you get the higher ABV than traditional pilsners. Garage grade three and three quarter bottle caps out of five. And let's give some thanks and praise to our good friends that helped us fill up the old garage fridge. First up, a big thank you and double fisted cheers to Amanda and Bobby Ottomans in Alexandria, Virginia.

[Captain]

And a big we like jib goes out to Jill K and Knox City.

[Steve Buscemi]

Next up, another double fisted cheers goes out to Jordan and Calvin Swine tuning in from Nashville, Tennessee.

[Captain]

And a big tall cans in the air to John Winholes and South St. Paul.

[Steve Buscemi]

And last but certainly not least, Captain, here's a cheers to Virginia in Atuscadero, California. Everyone we just mentioned, they went to truecrimegarage.com clicked on the pint class, helped us fill up the old garage fridge for this week's show and for that we thank you.

[Captain]

Yeah, BWR, you in for everything, true crime. Check out truecrimegarage.com and Colonel, that's enough of the business.

[Steve Buscemi]

All right everybody gather round. Grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime. An absolutely brutal crime. First degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder.

[Nick]

Court documents show the attack was planned.

[Steve Buscemi]

Stating the four were part of an.

[Nick]

Anti government religious group known as God's Misfits. God Misfit God misfits.

[Steve Buscemi]

Saturday, March 30, 2020 4:27 year old Veronica Butler hit the highway. Her plan to go and retrieve her two children and to spend some time with family. The kids were with their grandmother, Tiffany Adams. However, according to grandma, Veronica never arrived to collect the kids. Veronica Butler and another woman, Jillian Kelly, who was traveling with Veronica, were soon reported missing. Their car was later found in Texas county near the Kansas state line. No sign of either woman was found there. However, very disturbingly, police found signs of foul play. Days of investigation led detectives to a group calling themselves God's Misfits. This is True Crime Garage 1st Degree.

[Nick]

Murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder. Court documents reports show the attack was planned stating the four were part of an anti government religious group known as God's Misfits. God's Misfits. God's Misfits.

[Steve Buscemi]

Joining us for the first time here in the garage we have Lauren Conlin From Pop Crime TV on YouTube and the Outlier podcast. Welcome to the garage, Lauren. How are you doing today?

[Nick]

I'm doing great. Thank you guys so much for having me.

[Steve Buscemi]

You're here to educate us about a case that is really, it's fresh, it's new. Unfortunately, it's a case that took place last year in 2024 and we are working through the processes with this case as we go in, trying to figure out exactly what happened. Now at the center of this case, Lauren, we have a young woman named Veronica Butler, just 27 old. Who is Veronica Butler?

[Nick]

Yes, Veronica Butler. She's a beautiful girl, beautiful red hair. She's a 27 year old mother of two children, loves her children, would do anything for them. Veronica was in school, she was very busy. She was in school to become a surge tech. She was a certified nursing assistant and she also owned a, a store called Sunflower Nutrition. She was known to be a really great, great cook. So she kind of incorporated her healthy cooking at Sunflower Nutrition in Hugon, Kansas where she lives and. Hugon, Kansas. I, I've been there. It's a really small town. It's about 3,500 people let's say. And everybody knew Veronica as, as being just confident, kind and, and sassy.

[Steve Buscemi]

You had mentioned the. She's the mother of two children, ages 8 and 6, I believe. Who are the kids? What do we know about Veronica's children?

[Nick]

Yes, her children are 8 and 6. She has a boy and a girl and she had these kids when she was clearly a bit younger and her, I'll just call him her baby daddy, Wrangler Rickman, he has a bit of a history. History with drugs and arrest. So they. They didn't work out as a couple, and they split soon after Veronica's daughter was born. And I guess I. I don't want to go too much into the kids. They're minors, so I don't really know what else to say there, but I. I know that. That both parents do love the children dearly.

[Steve Buscemi]

The daughter was born in 2018, I believe in April, and then they split up. Wrangler and Veronica split up in December of 2018. What were the arrangements and where were both of the parents living during that time period from 2018 up until events that took place last year?

[Nick]

Yes. Well, Veronica, she was not awarded full custody of the kids until 2021, but they had been going through this bitter custody battle since 2019. And one of Wrangler's, I guess, qualms here was that Veronica was moving. She was living in Kansas, then she was living in Colorado, and she didn't tell him. And this is according to Wrangler. And Wrangler had lived in Guyman, Oklahoma, in that area. And Veronica, the truth was she was working hard. She is a single mother. She was trying to provide for her children, and she was trying to create a stable environment for them. So. So at this point, it's. It's just becoming very contentious. Wrangler was getting into trouble, so that's why she filed for full custody, and she was granted full custody again in 2021. And she also, I believe that same year, had filed a protective order against Wrangler. She. She just didn't like what was happening. She. She didn't like that. That he had been arrested for drugs. And she didn't want that around the kids.

[Steve Buscemi]

She wanted somebody who would be an actual father. And it seemed like Wrangler was more into partying and hanging out with his friends rather than being a responsible young parent. What was he up to in 2024? What's his story?

[Nick]

Yes, Wrangler was actually arrested in 2023, in November of 2023. And that. That arrest is really interesting. We'll probably get into it a bit later, but he was arrested for feloniously pointing a firearm after a felony conviction. So that initially did not result in any jail time. He got a suspended sentence, but then he was rearrested in February of 2024 for assault and battery. And that was followed by a short incarceration, and then that was followed by a stint in rehab.

[Captain]

Is this a situation where opposites attract? Or is it a situation where she was just getting her life together because she had kids?

[Nick]

I mean, I've looked at Facebook posts from Veronica and Wrangler when it seemed like their relationship was in a really good place. And it made me really sad because they both seem to be very much into one another, and they seem to be happy. But you guys get it when you're young, you know, thing. Things change. You're not the same person that you were in. In your teens or your early 20s. So I do feel like it was young love. Maybe it was like a puppy dog thing at first, But I do feel like Veronica really matured, and Wrangler just. He wasn't there. They had different priorities. And Veronica is a. She's a Christian. She. She loves her church. She loves God. She loves her family. And, you know, as we're talking about this case, you'll. You'll understand that Wrangler was into partying.

[Steve Buscemi]

What is the situation with the children in 2024? We have. Is in. In and out of jail and also then attempting rehab. So he's in a facility. And then we have Veronica, who is, as you said, moving around it at that time. What is the custody situation for these two children, just 6 and 8 years old, early in 2024?

[Nick]

Well, by 2024, Veronica had lost custody of the kids. And what had happened was, in 2022, Wrangler's mother had actually inserted herself and intervened with this custody battle. She said, you know what? My son clearly wants to party. He doesn't want to be a dad. So when it's time for his visitation, Tiffany Adams, Wrangler's mother, was going to step in and take the kids. Now, at some point here, Tiffany actually withheld the children from both Wrangler and Veronica. So Wrangler and Veronica actually got on the same team for a hot minute, and there were Facebook posts from both of them saying, yeah, like Wrangler said, my mom is withholding the kids from me. And, you know, they were trying to fight this in court. And Veronica lost custody of the children because of something that Tiffany Adams had filed in court about Veronica and about what Veronica had allowed when the children were with her. And it turns out, guys, that this wasn't true. These allegations that Tiffany Adams made to get these children and to get them taken for Veronica was. Was false.

[Steve Buscemi]

What are some of the details of those allegations? Because that plays a big role in the. In the story here.

[Nick]

Oh, yes, it plays a very big role. And the allegations were that Veronica had allowed her children to be sexually abused by a family member. And I want to be clear, Veronica did not allow this. This did not happen.

[Captain]

So you're saying this sexual abuse never happened, period, or the fact that she didn't allow.

[Nick]

I am saying the sexual abuse never happened, period.

[Steve Buscemi]

But then we find ourselves in a situation where it appears that Tiffany Adams, Wrangler's mother, the father's mother, is now in control and has custody of the children because of these allegations. And it's almost like a role reversal here, right where Lauren, we have Veronica, who was in charge, who had full custody at one point, these, these allegations come about, and now Veronica is finding herself where she is getting visitation with her children. But it's supervised visitation. And from my understanding, it was every Saturday was to be scheduled for each and every Saturday.

[Captain]

Were the visitation supervised?

[Nick]

Yes, they. They were supervised and they had a handful, I want to say, maybe four or five court appointed therapists. And Tiffany Adams, she initially chose one or two women that she wanted. And then I believe Veronica also chose a few on her end as well. But what was going on before this was that when Tiffany Adams had the children and it was Wrangler's time with the children, Tiffany Adams just would not give them back. And it got to be a huge problem, which is, you know, where the child stealing allegation comes in. And I just, I want to give you guys an idea about the area as well. This area in the Midwest. What I've learned is a lot of families, they. They want the kids to be homeschooled. They want them to split their day into, you know, learning at home and then maybe working on the farm. So I believe that Tiffany, she wanted to train these kids that way. And at a certain point, Tiffany really felt like these kids were somehow hurts. And what she had been doing was she had been canceling the visitation with Veronica, saying, oh, the kids are sick. And, you know, Veronica's like, I don't care. I'm their mother. I don't give a damn if they're sick. I want to see my children. And then Tiffany would say, oh, I'll make up the visit. And she never did. So the court was catching on here. And I believe it was. I think they had a couple hearings set up for April of 2024, where Veronica was pretty much going to be granted overnight visits with her kids that were unsupervised. That's the track that she was on. And I don't think Tiffany Adams was very happy about it.

[Captain]

This type of Raising children. Is this a economical thing or is this a religious.

[Nick]

Well, I think in, in this case, guys, it, it's interesting. Tiffany Adams and a handful of people in that area were part of this prayer group. And this prayer group was called God's Misfits. They came up with this name as a joke, but I guess it kind of stuck. They had said, you know, we don't really belong anywhere. But this group of people, let's say 15 to 20 people that we know of, possibly more, they would meet twice a week on Sunday nights and Wednesday evenings at the homes of some of these people and they would bring the kids and they would just have time to, I guess discuss what they wanted to discuss and pray. And I, I just believe that this, this group, people were a little bit nervous about this group in the area. Tiffany Adams seemed to have a lot of, of power. It was like I said, her, her town and her county in Oklahoma, also really small, about 30, I think it was Keys, Oklahoma, maybe a thousand people. The county of diamond, where she lived, I think that entire county is around 20,000 people. So people knew Tiffany, she was on the hospital board, she was on school boards, she was the, the simmer in county GOP chair. And people knew about God's Misfits. So I think that there was, you know, she was intimidating. So I think that. Back to your question. Sorry, that was very long winded. Back to your question about this being a religious thing or an economical thing. I think it was, it was a little bit of both.

[Steve Buscemi]

This is essentially a small flock, right? A congregation, a religion without a church or a steeple. It's. We get together for our meetings Wednesday night, Sunday during the day. And these meetings are held at different members of this God's misfits. It's come to. You're welcome into my home and we will be praying and carrying out our church service air quotes in my family room is pretty much what we're. You're describing here, correct?

[Nick]

Yes. And I don't exactly know what went on. Like I said during those meetings. I believe it was prayer, I believe it was fellowship to a degree. But I mean, let's just say guys, these people seem to march to the beat of their own drums. A handful of them refer to themselves as sovereign citizens. And I mean It's. I've seen 45 page documents sent to Antony Blinken describing that and not to be gross, but describing that their children come from their own sperm and their children don't have to do anything that the government tells them to it's wild. It really is wild. And they went to conventions of people speaking about sovereignty, and it makes me feel a bit strange just, I guess, knowing what was about to unfold. But, yeah, that's what it was.

[Captain]

So maybe a group of conspiracy theorists, doomsday preppers, that type of individual.

[Nick]

Yeah, definitely, definitely, definitely a little bit out there. Conspiracies abound. Absolutely.

[Captain]

Now, some of these groups, there becomes a hierarchy within the group, and sometimes that leads to. How do I say this? The hierarchy leads to a sexual component. Is there any evidence of that happening within this group?

[Nick]

Sorry, what do you mean by that exactly?

[Captain]

Where there becomes almost a leader, and because there is a leader, that then if the leader is male, that the female followers will become attracted to him or, or that male leader will use his power for. For sexual advances on his followers.

[Nick]

Got it. Tiffany Adams was without a doubt the leader of this group. She was. She had the loudest voice. She had the most connections within the town, within the county, and, and I've been told guys that grown men were scared of her.

[Captain]

That's fascinating.

[Nick]

And not to be. How do I say this? I guess not to be shallow, but you can look up pictures of Tiffany Adams from five years ago and, and she's beautiful. She's a beautiful woman. She's in her, her 50s. And, and if you see pictures of her now, and I'm speculating, but it's, it's incredible that drugs haven't really been mentioned, you know, when it comes to this case, because her face and the way that she looks is, is alarming, I guess, compared to what she looked like just a few years prior.

[Captain]

So do you think that was a part of this prayer group is drugs, or do you think this was something outside of the group?

[Nick]

I think that within the group, they would split up and certain people would click over here, certain people would click over here. And I'm, I'm speculating, but I think that possibly it could have been something going on within the group, but not the entire group was aware of it. You know, like I mentioned, they brought these, their kids to these meetings. They. There was a lot of young children there and teens. So I don't think that if there were drugs involved that anything would, you know, kind of just be the outright. But Tiffany is friends with a DATF agent. His name is Kevin McIntyre. He was on the witness list, the OSBI witness list with this case. He's publicly been charged with embezzlement in 2007. He serves, or he did serve on the Cimmeron County Hospital Board with Tiffany and they were known to be friends. So he has a Facebook group where he talks about how he and his team have seized all of these drugs from, from crime scenes and, you know, drug houses. And so I just, I'm scratching my head here, like, man, this is pretty convenient. But again, I, I don't have proof that anything happened between this DATF agent and Tiffany Adams, but I do know their friends.

[Steve Buscemi]

But to put it plain and simple, the arrangements ordered by the court for the custody visits and visitation with the two children, it's not working out. Regardless of who's to blame, it's not working out, it's not going as planned. And this will lead us to the events of March 30, 2024. Could you take us through the morning of March 30?

[Nick]

Yes, March 30. That's the day before Easter. And Veronica Butler is very excited because it's Saturday. She gets to see her children. They are going to celebrate her daughter's birthday at a family member's house. And I want to just set up the, the geography there, guys, because I mentioned Veronica lives in Hugoton, Kansas, and the kids are at Tiffany Adams her house and that is in Keys, Oklahoma. Now this is the Panhandle and you're kind of right on, on the border there. So it's really a 45 minute drive between the two states. So that day the quote unquote normal court appointed supervisor wasn't going to be there. She was told, you know, you don't have to work that day. Or maybe she called in sick. I'm, I'm actually not certain as to what happened there, but Veronica had asked somebody else to fill in for her, a woman named Jillian Kelly. And she knew Jillian from her church. So Veronica and Jillian got in the car around 9:00 to drive to Oklahoma. And what's so baffling to me is the fact that you've got this bitter custody battle and a judge somehow thinks that it's okay not to do these type of handoffs at a police station or at the sheriff's. And they allow these handoffs to happen wherever Tiffany Adams feels like it. So on this particular day, Tiffany says, okay, let's kind of meet in between, or it's a little bit further for you guys to drive, but let's meet off of road L and Highway 95. And if you've ever been to this area, it's, it's wild, it's, it's flat lands. And I guess I'M saying it's wild because I live in New York City, so I've, I've really never experienced anything like this where it's just empty and you've got one bar. But that's what it's like out there. And that's where they were going to do this handoff. According to Tiffany, Veronica never showed up to get her children.

[Steve Buscemi]

And that's the short of her stories. I'm waiting here with the children. Veronica never shows up, but the alarm is raised at some point because they're. There were family gatherings scheduled for later that day. I do believe that would be with Veronica and the children attending these visits as well and these get togethers as well. And so Veronica's extended family becomes concerned when she doesn't show up with the children, knowing very well that she was excited to attend these events. Who first figures out that maybe they're could be a problem here and where do they go once they figure out that we might have an issue?

[Nick]

You're correct. And you know something else about this that is, is just something that I thought of is like Tiffany Adams saying, oh, well, Veronica just, just didn't show up. I don't know what happened. I mean, Tiffany Adams hated Veronica. She wanted to take her children. Wouldn't you think that she would be the first person to jump on social media and say something like, well, the bitch didn't show up. You know, I guess she doesn't love her kids. And it's just, you know, it's baffling to me that, that her, her claims here were just, you know, they just rolled off every. Everybody. No one really thought anything of it. But yes, Veronica's aunt noticed that. Hey, it's getting a little late. Where the heck is she? This isn't normal. Veronica's not answering her phone, so she decides to go and, and look for them. And I believe her aunt knew where the handoff was, was going to be. Maybe Veronica told her. So she did drive to where Veronica's handoff was supposed to be. And she made a very troubling and chilling discovery. She found Veronica's car veered off the road. And things looked pretty nefarious, you guys. There was a lot of blood around the vehicle. And not only that, but there was a broken hammer and there was a pair of glasses on the ground and there appeared to be kitty litter almost there to soak up some of the blood. So of course she panics. And the police are called. Foreign.

[Steve Buscemi]

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[Captain]

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[Steve Buscemi]

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[Nick]

Police saw the the broken hammer on the ground, they saw the the glasses and they saw the the strange. What they thought at the time maybe was was dry oil but it was actually kitty litter and they're just like wait, what is going on here? And from what I'm told from sources, local sources, immediately, immediately. Veronica's family had said, okay, you need to go find out where Tiffany Adams is you need to go figure out where she is because you know there's something going on there.

[Steve Buscemi]

I did read a report that maybe a gun was found at the scene, but I believe the gun may have belonged to Veronica.

[Nick]

There was not a gun found at the scene. There was a magazine found, but there was no pistol. And that belonged to Gillian Kelly, her court appointed supervisor.

[Captain]

Could you describe this hammer for us?

[Nick]

Well, the hammer was broken and that was very troubling to me. Initially I thought to myself, well, how hard do you have to hit something or someone with a hammer to cause it to break?

[Steve Buscemi]

What are the next steps by law enforcement here? Because we have this information from Veronica's family to go and talk to Tiffany Adams, who she was scheduled to meet with. Are they attempting to trace their phones or. Or look for phone activity that can be used to locate either woman, Veronica or Jillian. What. What are law enforcement's next steps and what do they find when they start on their investigation of what now is two missing women?

[Nick]

Yes. Well, law enforcement discover later when they start looking into the cell phones, that around 9:42am Jillian Kelly and Veronica Butler's cell phones stop transmitting signals. So by 7pm that night, they issue an endangered missing persons alert. And that goes out via the Texas County Sheriff's Department Facebook page. And that's in Oklahoma. And. And then it becomes national. And I remember seeing that and thinking to myself, man, this is really weird. You've got two women who are both mothers and they go missing at the same exact time. That, that just seems so rare. And so from there, the OSBI requested tips on social media, just anybody with relevant information or if you know anything about their whereabouts to please come forward. And at that point, that's when people start talking. And this is when a confidential witness, who is a minor, actually spills the beans, comes forward. And that's essentially what blew this case wide open. And that is also what allowed for investigators to get a search warrant for Tiffany Adams's phone.

[Steve Buscemi]

Let's talk about this, because I want to have a good understanding of this vehicle, of Veronica's vehicle that is found. The two women are missing and we know that they left in the 9 o'clock hour that morning. Where is this vehicle found in relationship to where the scheduled meeting, the drop off meetup point was to be?

[Nick]

Oh, it was there. It was at the same spot. Yes. It was just veered off the road and it. Yeah.

[Steve Buscemi]

When I. So detective arrives on the scene, we're looking for two grown women, one Jillian Kelly, who we believe to be very responsible. I mean, she's the court appointed supervisor and she may or may not have been packing. She may or may not have been carrying a firearm with her at the time. We know the magazine was found at the scene. But if I'm a detective, I'm arriving on the scene and here's, here's what I'm finding. The car is abandoned where the meetup is supposed to take place. Their phones, the activity on their phones seems to stop around the time that they would be arriving at this location. So everything is pointing to that. Veronica and Jillian upheld their end of the bargain of where we are to meet at what time. And then the flip of that is we have Tiffany Adams who says, no, I was there. They never showed up.

[Nick]

I don't know if she said I was there.

[Steve Buscemi]

Okay?

[Nick]

I, I'm not sure if she said that. She just said they didn't show up. And look, I mean, whatever went down or whatever happened at the scene of the meetup, I would speculate that things didn't go as planned. Because who would leave a scene like that? Guys, who would leave a hammer and all the blood there? I mean, it appears that somebody tried to absorb the blood like a dumbass. But I mean, like I was thinking, well, something went wrong. And just to give you some info about Jillian, she's a volunteer. She is a 39 year old mother of four. She's a pastor's wife. I mean she is. Her and Veronica were friendly. They, they met actually through Veronica's pastor, as I mentioned. And Veronica's pastor knew Jillian's husband. And Jillian was, was not your typical preacher's wife. She was a gun toting, motorcycle riding badass, you know, and so they were friendly, but they weren't exactly good friends, if that makes sense. So, yeah, I mean it was, it was alarming to see that Jillian's magazine was there, but yeah, no pistol.

[Steve Buscemi]

It would appear to me that we have one of two possible situations that either this is a completely, you know, it's out in the middle of nowhere. This is a complete random violent act that took place. We have two missing people, or we have a situation where the, the missing people were removed from this location and oh, we happen to find their abandoned vehicle before somebody could get back here and discard of the, and get rid of this vehicle. The, the kitty litter. Obviously if they put that down with the, with the intention of soaking up and absorbing blood evidence from the scene, then somebody was taking precautions to try to cover up this crime or whatever took place at that location?

[Nick]

Yes, that's correct.

[Steve Buscemi]

And who knew of this location for being the meetup? Was it. Did it go beyond Veronica? Did it go beyond Jillian Was, as.

[Nick]

I understand, Veronica knew, Jillian knew, Tiffany Adams knew. And possibly one or two of Veronica's family members knew because they wound up at that location when Veronica never showed up to the birthday party.

[Steve Buscemi]

And now we have missing endangered people. What is our investigation and where does it go from from this point? You had mentioned a search warrant for Tiffany Adams phone. Were they searching Tiffany Adams properties or her. I believe she had a boyfriend at the time.

[Nick]

Yes. Tiffany Adams, her boyfriend is a man named Tad Bert Cullum. And Tad Cullum, he was known to be this nice guy. He was very friendly to a lot of people in town. And he was a farmer. And actually Wrangler Rickman had previously been employed by Tad. He worked on Tad's farm. And Tad was, gosh, he was quite a few years younger than Tiffany. So tad's in his 40s. And again, by all accounts, Tad was a pretty nice guy.

[Steve Buscemi]

Are the two of them living together at this time?

[Nick]

Yeah, I mean, they. They had their own homes, they owned their own homes, but they did coexist a lot or co. Cohabitate a lot. I would. I would compare it to you staying at a boyfriend or girlfriend's house, you know, for a few days at a time.

[Captain]

So do you believe that law enforcement. Because we know where she was heading to pick up her children, we know that she was supposed to meet her mother in law, quote, unquote. Do you think that right away law enforcement knew who was responsible for this crime?

[Nick]

I think that law enforcement knew which way to look. They knew who to look at, they knew who they needed to talk to. And, and with that being said, they were able to get a search warrant by April 1st for Tiffany Adams's phone. And you know, Tiffany Adams was, you know, a willing participant in this. She said, okay. And investigators found web searches for things like taser, pain level, gun shops, prepaid cellular phones, where to get them, and also a search on how to get someone out of their house or to leave their house.

[Captain]

Can you explain the last one a little more? The searches to get somebody to leave your house?

[Nick]

Yes. So the last search that she made, it turns out, and we learned a lot when on April 3, this confidential witness was interviewed by the OSBI. So again, I mentioned this is what really blew the case wide open. And we learned that Tiffany Adams, in February of 2024, wanted to, quote, unquote, get rid of Veronica and she wanted to get rid of Veronica by having her boyfriend, Tad Callum, and another one of their friends throw a vise through Veronica's windshield. And in order to do this, Veronica would need to leave her house. And they were kind of waiting for Veronica to leave her house one day. Turns out that the day they had planned to do this, Veronica only went across the street or something like that. So the plan didn't exactly work out. So that's where that Google search came from. And so, yeah, investigators were like, what the hell is this? But, I mean, what they had there was pretty damning Taser, pain level, gun shops. I mean, what.

[Captain]

Well, it's fascinating to me that she makes these horrible accusations against the mother of her grandchildren. And it seems like the courts jumped to this conclusion that it's true. I mean, obviously, you have to take these claims very serious, and I know that the hands of justice move very slowly, but you think the courts would have been on to the fact that maybe this person is making up these accusations because they have a motive in doing so.

[Nick]

Yes. And this is where, you know, it's like, all right, do we have. Do we have just. Oh, it's a small town and everyone knows everyone, and people just know that, by all accounts, Tiffany Adams appears to be somebody that can take care of these grandchildren. She has a decent reputation of being on the board here and heading up the gop. So, you know, is it. Is it that or is it. Is it corruption? Does. Does she have people in her back pocket?

[Steve Buscemi]

The plan with the vice is interesting, but seems a bit flawed. Right. So throwing the vice at a heavy metal object, essentially at the. The windshield of the vehicle while it's moving, being operated by Veronica. I guess the idea would be causing a her to go off the road or some type of vehicular accident that would lead to her death, and thus her death being ruled just a very basic and simple accident. One that unfortunately we see regular on highways and. And whatnot.

[Nick]

But wait, Nick, do we see that regularly? Because I thought about that and I said, that is so stupid. Where. Where would this vice come from? Where would this. I mean, I didn't really understand that.

[Steve Buscemi]

Was my portion of the flawed plan. Where.

[Nick]

Okay, okay.

[Steve Buscemi]

On the scene, aren't they? People aren't just driving around with a heavy vise in their car all the time. I mean, you could. You could explain it as being picked up from the hardware store or a recent purchase or something of that nature. That would stand out as well. This. This is some form of. Of an attack. Whether it be that she was targeted or not, it could be as simple as a dumb teenage prank, or it could be something very serious to the point where this woman was targeted for specific reasons.

[Captain]

Well, the motivation might not have also been homicide. The motivation could have been, this is going to be enough. Where she can't prove that she was targeted, that maybe this was just a situation. Stupid teenagers doing something stupid or an accident. But maybe. Maybe the motivation was just to scare her to start complying.

[Nick]

It was not. The motive was homicide. And we learned this based on some future witness testimony here. But my understanding and my opinion on this was they. Tiffany knew people. She knew people in law enforcement. And I just don't think that if this actually worked, this. This plan with the vice. I don't think that she was thinking that law enforcement would sit there and dust the vice for fingerprints, that they would do some big investigation. I think she. She most likely thought that, yeah, it would be cut and dry, and, you know, nobody would ever know.

[Steve Buscemi]

That's why I love the police departments and the sheriff's departments that when they arrive on a scene like that, they arrive with the idea that this is a homicide until we can prove otherwise with this story here, though. So Tiffany is the last breadcrumb. When you're looking for a breadcrumb trail for your two missing people, she then becomes that last breadcrumb. So now you are searching her phone, and you learn all of these wonderful things about her when you're looking at the searches that she has done on her phone with the stun gun and burner phones, and the plot to attempt to kill Veronica in what would look like a vehicular accident in February. You said that there was a confidential informant or witness that comes forward. Was that one of the children, one of Veronica's children, or do we not know who that person is?

[Nick]

No, we know who the confidential witness is. She is a minor, and she is someone's child who was allegedly involved in this plot. And I say allegedly because this case is not adjudicated yet. But she was very upset, and she drove to her brother's house in another state in Texas, but again, you know, a border state. And she called the OSBI and said, I have information, and I need to tell you about it. And so she met with the OSBI and she told them everything that she knew. And again, it blew this case wide open. And I have to say, I just don't think that any of us were really ready for a lot of what we heard. And this was the first Time that we actually heard about God's Misfits. And that's when you were like, wait, what is this, some kind of cult? Like, what the hell is this? I mean, and just to be clear, there is another God's Misfits group out of another state. And the leader, I mean, they had like 300 followers or something like that on Facebook. But this guy who heads up that God's Misfits, he's like, wait, what? No, this has nothing to do with me or my group. I have no affiliation. What is happening? But. But yeah, this. This interview with the minor was. Was shocking.

[Captain]

Well, God's Misfits was also the name of my grind core heavy metal Christian band in middle school, so.

[Nick]

No way. Really?

[Captain]

No, no, I'm just joking.

[Nick]

Oh. I was like, wait, you got me. Oh, geez. Okay. Wow. I'm gullible, I guess.

[Steve Buscemi]

We have a missing persons investigation that starts on March 30th. We have phone searches, search warrant of Tiffany Adams phone being conducted in early April of 2024. And now we have this confidential witness that comes forward who you've not said what. What they're telling law enforcement, or at least what is believed that they told law enforcement. Because there's a lot of this. There's a lot of horrific events that took place behind closed doors and horrific events that several people wish that would not be brought into the light. How much do you think this witness knew and how much do you think they were able to provide to law enforcement?

[Nick]

Well, I know everything that she knew, and she told law enforcement everything that she knew. And this is subsequently what led to multiple arrests, guys. And a day after this confidential witness shared what she knew, OSBI requested assistance in the investigation from the FBI and the confidential witness. Again, the minor daughter of two people that were allegedly involved in the disappearance of Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelly. Her parents had told her about what was going to happen. They had said, we are going on a mission for God's Misfits, so when you wake up in the morning, we won't be here. And the minor had said, well, what are you going to do? And they kind of said, well, don't worry about it, but Veronica won't be an issue anymore. And she had said, well, wait, what. What about Jillian? What. What did she do? And they said, well, Jillian supported Veronica. The morning of March 30, when her parents had arrived home, they instructed this minor daughter to go and clean out their truck. And the minor daughter said, so what happened? Did. Did everything go accordingly? And the answer was. Well, it didn't exactly go according to plan, but Veronica won't be an issue anymore.

[Captain]

Thank everybody for joining us here in the garage. Stick around for part two. So much more to get to.

[Steve Buscemi]

Until then, be good, be kind, and don't litter.