Sentencing closes one chapter in a Panhandle case that began with a missing persons alert on March 30, 2024.
GUYMON, Okla. — Tifany Machel Adams was sentenced Monday to two terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole for orchestrating the 2024 murders of Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, whose remains were later recovered from a buried freezer on private land in Texas County.
The sentence caps a prosecution that began after the women’s van was found abandoned along a rural highway near the Four Corners area. Prosecutors said Adams, 56, planned the attack amid a custody dispute over Butler’s two children, and that Kelley, appointed to supervise the exchange, was killed because she accompanied her friend. Adams pleaded no contest in October, removing the death penalty from consideration and sending the case directly to sentencing at the start of this week.
On March 30, 2024, Butler and Kelley left Hugoton, Kan., for a scheduled custody handoff in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Deputies found the women’s vehicle that afternoon with blood evidence and personal items nearby, according to investigators. Search teams spread across pastures and section roads as state agents gathered surveillance video and cell phone records. In mid-April, authorities located a burial site and unearthed a large chest freezer containing both victims. “This was an ambush designed to end a court fight over children,” a prosecutor told the court during sentencing.
Court records identify additional defendants: Adams’ boyfriend, Tad Bert Cullum; Cole Earl Twombly; Cora Twombly; and Paul Grice. Investigators described planning that included burner phones and scouting remote locations. The state medical examiner reported multiple sharp-force injuries, along with defensive wounds, for both victims. After Monday’s hearing, the judge also imposed two five-year terms for unlawful removal of a body and two seven-year terms for unlawful desecration of a human corpse. The orders state those terms run concurrently with the life sentences. Adams received credit for time served and was remanded to the Department of Corrections.
The case resonated across southwest Kansas and the Oklahoma Panhandle, where congregations and community groups organized vigils. Kelley, a pastor’s wife and volunteer, had helped with supervised exchanges before, friends said. Butler’s relatives said the young mother was focused on her children and believed the trip would be routine. The recovery site sat several miles from where the vehicle was found. Agents said tips from residents and digital evidence helped narrow the search, which at one point involved cadaver dogs and heavy equipment.
Two co-defendants later reached plea deals requiring cooperation, prosecutors said. A judge scheduled a fall 2026 jury trial for Cullum, with proceedings for Cole Twombly expected after that. Defense attorneys for the remaining defendants have challenged aspects of the investigation in pretrial motions. Appeals in Adams’ case, if filed, would go to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals; prosecutors said no notice of appeal had been docketed by Tuesday morning. Officials declined to release a full transcript of Monday’s hearing but confirmed victim impact statements were presented in court.
Family members spoke briefly on the courthouse steps, thanking search volunteers and law enforcement. “We’re grateful for the verdicts and the sentence,” a relative said, adding that birthdays and holidays have been difficult since 2024. A local resident who attended the hearing described a silent gallery as the judge read the punishment. Another attendee said Adams offered only a short remark before being led away by deputies to begin her life terms.
With Adams sentenced, the criminal calendar now turns to the remaining defendants’ hearings and trial settings later in 2026 and into 2027. Authorities said additional filings—including a final restitution order and updated victim services notifications—are expected in the coming weeks.
Author note: Last updated February 4, 2026.