'Evil' gang member grandmother spared from death penalty for heartless killing of two Kansas moms
Tiffany Adams, 55, reportedly pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of unlawful removal of a dead body and two counts of unlawful desecration of a human corpse
A grandmother who is a member of the street gang "God's misfits" narrowly avoided the death penalty after she was convicted of the murders of two mothers in Oklahoma.
Defendant Tiffany Adams, 55, reportedly pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of unlawful removal of a dead body and two counts of unlawful desecration of a human corpse in Texas County on Oct. 14.
In lieu of the death penalty, Adams will serve life without parole after she is formally sentenced on January 28. Prosecutors alleged that Adams was responsible for the fatal stabbing of her grandchildren's mother, Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, in March 2024.
Butler, suffered a horrific death from sharp force trauma with a total of 30 wounds, including 10 defensive ones, as per the state medical examiner's office report.
The remains of both Butler and Kelley, a court supervisor involved in a children's custody case, were discovered on April 14 in Texas County, Oklahoma, less than 10 miles from where they had mysteriously disappeared less than a month prior, according to an affidavit filed by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
The medical examiner's report suggests that Butler was likely already dead when she was placed in the freezer and buried. She also had a laceration on her forehead consistent with being hit with a stun gun.
"Given the extent of Ms. Butler's injuries, including defects to both of her internal jugular veins with resultant exsanguination, it is my opinion that her death was very quick and likely occurred before she was placed inside the freezer and buried," a report obtained by KOKH stated. "This opinion is additionally supported by the fact that her body appeared to have remained exactly how it was placed inside the freezer."
Five individuals, including Adams, her boyfriend Tad Bert Cullum, Cole Earl Twombly, Cora Twombly, and Paul Grice, have been charged in connection with the kidnapping and murder of two women. NBC News reported that they all faced charges of murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and kidnapping, with four out of the five defendants being represented by the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System.
The property where the victims were discovered was reportedly rented by defendant Tad Bert Cullum for cattle grazing. The arrest affidavit reveals a child custody dispute between Butler and Adams, which began in 2019, with Adams being the mother of the child's father.
Butler's attorney informed the State Bureau of Investigation during an April 17 hearing that she had previously requested extended visitation before her death. Court records indicate that she was likely to have received unsupervised visitation rights.
Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories
The child's father also reportedly told the state bureau that Adams frequently denied him custody of his children, despite him having legal custody, as per court documents.
On the day of her disappearance, Butler had reportedly planned to take her daughter to a birthday party.