A religious group linked to the abduction and slaying of two Kansas moms has condemned the attack as a “senseless act of murder” that goes “against God’s word,” asserting it has no ties to the alleged murderers.
The condemnation from the group, “God’s Misfits,” came days after probable cause affidavits revealed that the suspects accused of murdering Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley were part of an organization by the same name, which met weekly and was characterized by authorities as “anti-government.”
Those suspects are Tifany Adams, the grandmother and guardian of Butler’s children, as well as her boyfriend, Tad Bert Cullum, and their friends, Cora and Cole Earl Twombly. Each were arraigned Wednesday on murder and kidnapping charges in an emotionally-charged hearing that nearly became violent.
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“It is beyond me how anybody can do that,” said the founder of God’s Misfits, who goes by Squirrel, in a video statement Wednesday. “My heart goes out to y’all.”
Squirrel added that his organization isn’t anti-government, and that his only focus is “spreading the love of Jesus Christ,” which, he emphatically says, “does not mean going out and killing anybody.”
Butler, 27, and Kelley, 39, disappeared in the middle of their drive from their hometown in southwest Kansas into the rural Oklahoma panhandle, where Kelley was set to supervise a visit between Butler and her young children at Adams’ home.
An arrest affidavit obtained by The Daily Beast said the women were somehow stopped on the highway, abducted, and killed. Their car was found hundreds of feet off the side of a highway on March 30, which sparked a massive search for the moms.
They would never be seen alive again, but police began to piece together a motive for the grisly crime, which left pools of blood near their abandoned vehicle—a clue that made police believe the women may have been executed. Butler had been in a nasty custody dispute with her ex and Adams, who was the caregiver for her children.
A probe unveiled a trove of evidence against Adams, which included her web searches that sought answers on taser pain level, gun shops, prepaid cell phones, and how to get someone out of their house—the last of which allegedly came when Adams’ phone was pinged near Butler’s home in Hugoton, Kansas, earlier this year.
Police added that Adams, Cullum, and the Twombly’s had each purchased burner phones, which were found near the abandoned vehicle, and tasers, which may have been used to subdue Butler and Kelley.
Investigators said the suspects were connected through God’s Misfits, an anti-government organization that met inside group member’s homes. Much about the group has remained a mystery, but social posts for the suspects suggest they’ve been a part of the group since at least last year.
On Oct. 5, Cole Tombly posted to Facebook that he’d just left an “awesome prayer in the park” in Keyes, Oklahoma, hosted by the “Misfits.”
The group—and its members—have been at the center of rumors about what allegedly drove the suspects to kill, with some suggesting the group operated similar to a cult.
Butler’s dad, Clinton Butler, wrote on Facebook that his daughter kept him “informed of all of their bullshit,” referencing the Misfits, but didn’t elaborate on what he knows about the group. He did not respond to an interview request from The Daily Beast.
