The two Kansas mothers allegedly killed by members of the anti-government religious sect “God’s Misfits” were brutally stabbed to death before they were buried in a freezer, officials have now revealed.
Investigators had only previously said that Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, were murdered in an “absolutely brutal crime” tied to a custody battle, without detailing an exact cause of death.
But preliminary autopsy reports list both women’s causes of death as being from “multiple sharp force trauma,” People magazine reported Friday. The full medical report will be released on Nov. 15.
Butler and Kelley were allegedly ambushed and stabbed to death on March 30 by Paul Grice, 31, and Tom Cullum, 43, two of the five suspects arrested, according to court documents shared by KWCH.
Grice is believed to have stabbed Butler – injuring himself in the process – while Cullum went after Kelley, according to prosecutors.
The men then allegedly took the bodies to a field that Cullum leased, where he had prepared a hole the day before the killings, the documents said.
The victims were then buried inside a freezer — alongside some of their killers’ bloodied clothes as well as a K-bar knife and duct tape, the documents said.
Investigators found the women’s bodies about two weeks later. Their DNA was found on the stained clothing that supposedly belonged to the killers.
Butler and Kelley were last seen while they were returning home from a trip to Oklahoma to see Butler’s children.
The kids were staying with their paternal grandmother, Tifany Adams. At the time of her death, Butler was fighting her children’s father for custody and only had Saturday visitation rights.
Kelley, a preacher’s wife and Butler’s friend, was tasked with supervising the visit.
Adams, 54, and Cullum, 43, were arrested the day before the women’s bodies were discovered, along with Cole Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, who are accused of being the lookouts. Grice was arrested later that month.
All were hit with a slew of charges including first-degree murder and kidnapping.
The suspects all knew each other through the anti-government religious group known as “God’s Misfits,” according to investigators.
Adams allegedly bought burner phones to coordinate the killings, as well as stun guns and yellow straps that were used to wrap the freezer containing the victims’ bodies.
Cole and Cora Twombly allegedly served as the lookouts during the killings.
Two days after the bodies were found, the God’s Misfits group denounced the murders in a rambling Facebook post.
“THIS IS NOT US! WE ARE ABOUT THE LOVE OF JESUS,” they wrote.
