Officials announced the arrest of a fifth suspect in connection with the murder of two mothers from Kansas, authorities reported on Wednesday.
Paul Grice, 31, was apprehended and booked into Texas County Jail on charges including first-degree murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit murder, according to a press release from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, vanished on March 30 while en route from Kansas to pick up Butler’s children from a birthday party in Oklahoma. Their bodies were discovered on April 14 after they were last seen together in a vehicle later found abandoned by a rural Texas County highway.
Previously, four individuals had been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the women’s deaths. Tad Bert Cullum, Tifany Machel Adams, Cole Earl Twombly, and Cora Twombly were apprehended on April 14, the bureau stated.
According to an unsealed affidavit, Adams is the grandmother of Butler’s children and was involved in a custody dispute with her. Cullum and Adams were reportedly in a relationship.
Authorities revealed that all five suspects are members of an anti-government group called “God’s Misfits,” which frequently convened at the Twomblys’ residence and other locations.
A teenage witness, who spoke to investigators, claimed that the group had previously attempted to harm Butler and confessed to the murders, according to the affidavit. Last week, a judge entered not guilty pleas for all four initial suspects and denied them bail.
Family members of the victims attended the courthouse to confront the accused killers. Bryson Butler, Veronica Butler’s younger brother, expressed his hope for justice to be served, while one of the victim’s aunts questioned how someone could harbor so much hatred as to take another’s life.