Kansas mom’s attorney: Custody fight ‘contentious from beginning’
- Police ID bodies as Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley
- Butler's children were the subject of bitter custody dispute
- Four arrests were made, including the children's grandmother
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(NewsNation) — Garrett Oates, Kansas mom Veronica Butler‘s attorney, says the custody dispute between Butler and her children’s paternal grandmother, Tifany Adams, was “contentious from the beginning.”
Authorities have said the disappearance of Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, is believed to be linked to a violent escalation in the custody dispute between Butler and Adams.
Oates told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo that Butler was an “organized and diligent” client.
“She was extremely respectful, everything you want as a client and a person. She absolutely loved her children. And that was the goal, absolutely, to get her more time and then to be on the path to regain custody. That was our plan, for sure,” Oates said Tuesday on “CUOMO.”
“This case highlights the conflict, stress and magnitude of decisions that go into any child custody case. This was a case that was contentious from the beginning and had become increasingly contentious as time went on.
“It’s so unfortunate and I am so deeply saddened by the loss of my client, Veronica. I know all she ever wanted was to love her children.”
On Tuesday, the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner identified two bodies found in Texas County as Butler and Kelley, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said.
The two bodies were found Sunday after police began searching for the remains of the Kansas moms, who went missing more than two weeks ago. The cause of death is still pending from the medical examiner’s office.
Adams, 54; her boyfriend Tad Cullum, 43; Cora Twombly, 44; and her husband Cole Twombly, 50, are each charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder of Butler and Kelley, who vanished March 30 while on route to pick up Butler’s children for a supervised visit.
Adams and the other three suspects had been part of an anti-government group called “God’s Misfits” and had spoken about a previous murder attempt on Butler as well as plans to “take care of her,” according to probable cause affidavits filed in support of the criminal charges obtained by NewsNation.
The mothers’ vehicle was discovered abandoned 1,000 feet off of Oklahoma State Highway 95 along a dirt path.
NewsNation’s Damita Menezes contributed to this report.
