5th suspect arrested for murders of Kansas women in Oklahoma
TEXAS COUNTY, Okla. (KAKE) - A fifth person has been arrested in connection to the murder of two Kansas women Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley.
According to court records, a warrant was issued for 31-year-old Paul Grice on April 24 for two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and conspiracy to murder in the first degree with deliberate intent.
Grice admitted to participating in the killing of Butler and Kelly and their subsequent burial, according to an arrest affidavit.
The arrest comes 11 days after four other suspects were arrested for the murders of Kansas moms Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley, who went missing on March 30.
The other four suspects remain in custody: Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Tifany Machel Adams, 54; Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44.
Butler and Kelley were confirmed to be dead on April 15. At the time, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said they had no other suspects in the case.
According to court documents, Butler was in a "problematic custody battle" with Adams for custody of Butler's children. Typically, Butler's visits were supervised, and Kelley was with her as a supervisor.
Butler and Kelley were driving through the Oklahoma panhandle to pick up Butler’s children for a March 30 birthday party in Kansas. They never showed up, and their vehicle was found later that day, abandoned on a rural highway near the Oklahoma-Kansas state line, with evidence of foul play.
The court documents state Butler's family found her vehicle with blood on the road. Butler's glasses were in the road next to a broken hammer, and a pistol magazine was found in Kelley's purse. No gun was located.
The OSBI says the investigation is still ongoing.
