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Tifany Machel Adams, once a leading figure in Cimarron County Republican politics, has now accepted a grim deal in court: criminal conviction for a double homicide she won’t admit to committing.

Adams entered no contest pleas in a shocking case tied to a family custody dispute that ended with the deaths of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley, whose bodies were discovered buried in a freezer more than a year after they vanished, as The Christian Post reports.

The plea was entered in Texas County District Court, where Adams also conceded—without admitting guilt—to charges of illegally removing the women’s remains and desecrating their corpses.

Custody Battle Behind the Killings

Butler, 27, was in the middle of a volatile custody battle over her own children when she disappeared with Kelley, 39, a pastor’s wife, on March 30, 2024. The two women were last seen traveling a short route from Kansas to Eva, Oklahoma, where Butler was scheduled to collect her kids for her daughter’s birthday.

Their vehicle was later found abandoned just a few miles from their destination, along a rural stretch near Highway 95 and Road L. A few weeks later, in April 2024, authorities unearthed the horrifying truth: their bodies were hidden inside a freezer buried in the Oklahoma dirt.

According to investigators, the disappearances—and ultimately the murders—were fueled by Adams’ refusal to accept Butler’s progress in the custody case involving Adams’ grandchildren.

Adams’ Motive Rooted in Control Over Kids

Butler had been inching closer to gaining unsupervised visitation rights, with a pivotal hearing set for April 17, 2024. But Adams apparently had no interest in letting the legal process play out.

She was in a long-running custody standoff with Butler and had reportedly defied one of the rights of legal custody—by keeping the children from her own son, Wrangler Cole Rickman, when it suited her. Rickman, a convicted felon with a history of drug abuse, was nevertheless the legal guardian of the kids.

“At times Adams refused to let Rickman have his children,” according to an affidavit from investigators. “Reportedly, the officer told Rickman he believed the children were better off in Adams’ care.” A jaw-dropping statement for a lawman's badge to carry, especially when a life-or-death custody war was brewing.

Shadowy Group Allegedly Involved

Authorities say the tragedy wasn't Adams’ doing alone. Prosecutors allege that she joined with three accomplices—Tad Bert Cullum, Cole Earl Twombly, and Cora Twombly—who shared her radical views and played key roles in the women’s deaths.

The group allegedly attempted another failed effort to murder Butler before finally carrying out the crime on March 30. A teenage daughter of one of the suspects later told investigators her parents were part of an anti-government religious sect ominously named “God’s Misfits.”

The sect reportedly met regularly in a tight-knit circle of homes, including gatherings at Barrett and Lacy Cook’s residence—an eerie hub for what turned out to be deadly plans cloaked in theological zealotry.

From Church to Crime Scene

The loss rippled as far as Kansas and Nebraska. Kelley, the second victim, wasn’t just in the wrong place at the wrong time—she was there to support Butler as a family advocate and fell victim too.

Her husband, former Hugoton First Christian Church Pastor Heath Kelley, had led his Kansas congregation before relocating to another flock in Nebraska within months of losing his wife. The community bore the scars of both spiritual and personal betrayal.

Oklahoma State Sen. Nathan Dahm, reflecting on Adams’ tenure as a county GOP leader and the devastating aftermath, told KOCO News 5, “This is a tragic situation, with innocent children being at the center. We ask everyone to join us in praying for the family and most especially the children devastated by this horrible tragedy.”

Justice Without Closure?

Adams’ no contest plea spares her a trial but stops short of a true confession. She’ll face punishment without admitting guilt—what some might call legal limbo, and others might call a hollow outcome.

The facts are damning. Two lives were stolen, children were left motherless, and the justice system is once again managing a tragedy long after it could have prevented one.

For those who trusted Adams as a political leader or as a family matriarch, the betrayal cuts deeper than party lines. But in an era where truth too often takes a back seat to influence, it's no surprise that even cold-blooded facts need to be reluctantly prosecuted, not boldly stated.