Kansas moms killings: Ex-attorney of arrested grandma was ‘shocked’

(NewsNation) — Tifany Adams’ former attorney was shocked when he found out she was arrested alongside three others in connection to the Oklahoma killings of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley.

“I could not imagine it. It was a shock to find out she was charged,” Stephen Jones told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo.

Two Kansas moms found dead

Adams, 54; her boyfriend Tad Cullum, 43; Cora Twombly, 44; and her husband Cole Twombly, 50, were arraigned Wednesday on charges of kidnapping and first-degree murder of Butler, 27, and Kelley, 39.

Butler and Kelley vanished on March 30 while en route to pick up Butler’s children for a supervised visit. The two were found dead by authorities Sunday, and now police believe the killings are linked to a violent escalation in the custody dispute between Butler and Adams.

Butler and Adams’ brutal custody battle

Jones said the custody battle between the two has been contentious since its 2019 beginning. He explained that while the court has entered many temporary orders, there haven’t been any final orders entered.

“It’s gone on too long and too acrimoniously,” Jones said.

Jones described Adams as a well-known member of the community who has been in the farming and ranching business for several years and served on the county’s hospital board.

“She has strong feelings. The children’s mother and father were never married. So, we have this custody battle,” Jones said.

Wrangler Rickman, the father of the two children, had legal custody but was in a rehabilitation facility, so the children were living with Adams at the time of the disappearance.

The issue that kicked off the sequence of events leading up to Butler and Kelley’s deaths was the issue of temporary visitation, Jones said.

‘No indication’ Adams would kill Butler

Jones told Cuomo that there was no indication that Adams was desperate enough to kill Butler over the issue. And while Adams was a well-known member of the community, Jones did not know she was a part of the so-called anti-government religious group “God’s Misfits.”

“But I’m not surprised,” Jones said. “I’ve represented people in the Panhandle for over 50 years. And every time I go out there, I hear about a new group that doesn’t believe in your dollar bill or other things.”

He continued, “Since 1960, they have changed politically. It’s very Evangelical, very conspiratorial in the sense. Not trusting the government.”

If the allegations against Adams are true, Jones said then it would be a horrible homicide in which two people were ambushed.

“It’s gothic,” Jones said. “It’s something out of the Bates Motel and it’s a terrible thing. Whoever’s responsible for it, it’s shocking there’s no question about that.”