Bond denied for 4 'God's Misfits' defendants in the killing of 2 Kansas women

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge ordered public defenders to represent four members of an anti-government group who appeared in court Wednesday on charges of kidnapping and killing two Kansas women.

The judge also entered not-guilty pleas and denied bail for Tifany Adams, 54, and her boyfriend, Tad Cullum, 43, both of Keyes, Oklahoma, as well as Cole and Cora Twombly of Texhoma, Oklahoma.

Texas County Associate District Judge Clark Jett assigned the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System to represent all four defendants, OIDS Executive Director Tim Laughlin told The Associated Press. Laughlin declined to comment about any details of the case or the defendants, citing his agency's policy.

“The reason we don’t comment is to protect our client’s privileges and our client’s interest throughout the trial process,” Laughlin said.

All four are charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy in the killing of 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley of Hugoton, Kansas, who disappeared on May 30 while driving to Oklahoma to pick up Butler's children and attend a birthday party.

During an interview with investigators, Adams, the children's grandmother, admitted she was responsible for the deaths of Butler and Kelley, according to a prosecutor's motion for the defendants to be held without bond.

“Adams, Cullum, Cora and Cole have resources sufficient to organize and execute a complex murder,” OSBI Lt. Amie Gates wrote in an affidavit. “Therefore, they also have the resources to flee if given the opportunity.”

Adam and Cullum also own numerous firearms, and Cullum had a rifle, ammunition, body armor and a “go-bag” prepared at his home, the affidavit says.

Authorities say Adams and Butler were in the middle of a bitter custody battle. Kelley, a pastor's wife, went along with Butler as a court-approved observer to supervise the visit. They never showed up for the party, setting off a two week search that ended with the two couples' arrests on Saturday and the discovery of the bodies on Sunday.

Arrest affidavits painted a gruesome picture of the scene where the women's car was found, not far from the rural highway intersection where Butler had arranged to pick up her son and daughter from Adams. Investigators found blood on the road and Butler’s glasses near a broken hammer.

According to a witness who spoke to Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents, all four suspects were part of “an anti-government group that had a religious affiliation." The affidavits said they called themselves “God’s Misfits” and held regular meetings at the home of the Twomblys and another couple who Adams said watched the children the day the women disappeared.

Relatives of Tad Cullum and the Twomblys have not returned phone messages seeking comment. Tifany Adams’ stepmother, Elise Adams, said she had no information to share.

This booking photo provided by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shows Tad Bert Cullum. On Saturday, April 13, 2024, Oklahoma authorities said they arrested and charged four people, including Cullum, with murder and kidnapping over the weekend in connection with the disappearances of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via AP)

This booking photo provided by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shows Cora Twombly. On Saturday, April 13, 2024, Oklahoma authorities said they arrested and charged four people, including Twombly, with murder and kidnapping over the weekend in connection with the disappearances of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via AP)

This booking photo provided by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shows Cole Earl Twombly. On Saturday, April 13, 2024, Oklahoma authorities said they arrested and charged four people, including Twombly, with murder and kidnapping over the weekend in connection with the disappearances of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via AP)

This booking photo provided by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shows Tifany Machel Adams. On Saturday, April 13, 2024, Oklahoma authorities said they arrested and charged four people, including Adams, with murder and kidnapping over the weekend in connection with the disappearances of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via AP)

FILE - This combination photo shows Veronica Butler, left, and Jilian Kelley, right. On Saturday, April 13, 2024, Oklahoma authorities said they arrested and charged four people with murder and kidnapping over the weekend in connection with the disappearances of the two Oklahoma women. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via AP, File)

This combination of booking photo provided by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shows Tad Bert Cullum, top left, Cora Twombly, top right, Tifany Machel Adams, bottom left, and Cole Earl Twombly, bottom right. On Saturday, April 13, 2024, Oklahoma authorities said they arrested and charged these four people with murder and kidnapping over the weekend in connection with the disappearances of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals and European cities took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and government labor polices and calls for greater labor rights.

May Day, which falls on May 1, is observed in many countries to celebrate workers’ rights. May Day events have also given many an opportunity to air general economic grievances or political demands.

Police in Istanbul detained dozens of people who tried to reach the central Taksim Square in defiance of a government ban on marking Labor Day at the landmark location.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has long declared Taksim off-limits for rallies and demonstrations on security grounds, but some political parties and trade unions have vowed to march to the square, which holds symbolic value for labor unions.

In 1977, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a May Day celebration at Taksim, causing a stampede and killing 34 people.

On Wednesday, police erected barricades and sealed off all routes leading to the central Istanbul square. Public transport in the area was also restricted. Only a small group of trade union representatives was permitted to enter the square to lay a wreath at a monument in memory of victims of the 1977 incident.

Riot police apprehended some 30 members of the left-wing People’s Liberation Party who tried to break through the barriers.

In Indonesia, workers voiced anger at a new law they said violates their rights and hurts their welfare, and demanded protections for migrant workers abroad and a minimum wage raise.

About 50,000 workers from Jakarta’s satellite cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi were expected to join May Day marches in the capital, said Said Iqbal, the president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions.

They gathered amid a tight police presence near the National Monument park, waving the colorful flags of labor groups and chanting slogans against the Job Creation Law and loosened outsourcing rules during a march to Jakarta’s main sports stadium, Gelora Bung Karno.

“With the enactment of this law, our future is uncertain because many problems arise in wages, severance pay and the contract system,” said Isbandi Anggono, a protester.

Indonesia’s parliament last year ratified a government regulation that replaces a controversial law on job creation, but critics said it still benefits businesses. The law was intended to cut bureaucracy as part of President Joko Widodo’s efforts to attract more investment to the country, which is Southeast Asia's largest economy.

In Seoul, the South Korean capital, thousands of protesters sang, waved flags and shouted pro-labor slogans at the start of their rally on Wednesday. Organizers said their rally was primarily meant to step up their criticism of what they call anti-labor policies pursued by the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

“In the past two years under the Yoon Suk Yeol government, the lives of our laborers have plunged into despair,” Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which organized the rally, said in a speech. “We can't overlook the Yoon Suk Yeol government. We'll bring them down from power for ourselves.”

KCTU union members decried Yoon’s December veto of a bill aimed at limiting companies’ rights to seek compensation for damages caused by strikes by labor unions. They also accuse Yoon’s government of handling the 2022 strikes by truckers too aggressively and insulting construction sector workers whom authorities believed were involved in alleged irregular activities.

Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has pushed for labor reforms to support economic growth and job creation. His government has vowed to sternly deal with illegal strikes and demand more transparent accounting records from labor unions.

“The remarkable growth of the Republic of Korea was thanks to the sweat and efforts of our workers. I thank our 28.4 million workers,” Yoon said in a May Day message posted on Facebook. “My government and I will protect the precious value of labor.”

Seoul rally participants later marched through downtown streets. Similar May Day rallies were held in more than 10 locations across South Korea on Wednesday. Police said they had mobilized thousands of officers to maintain order, but there were no immediate reports of violence.

In Japan, more than 10,000 people gathered at Yoyogi park in downtown Tokyo for a May Day event, demanding salary increases that they said could sufficiently set off price increases. During the rally, Masako Obata, the leader of the left-leaning National Confederation of Trade Unions, said that dwindling wages have put many workers in Japan under severe living conditions and widened income disparities.

“On this May Day, we unite with our fellow workers around the world standing up for their rights,” she said, shouting “banzai!" or long life, to all workers.

In the Philippine capital, Manila, hundreds of workers and left-wing activists marched and held a rally in the scorching summer heat to demand wage increases and job security amid soaring food and oil prices.

Riot police stopped the protesting workers from getting close to the presidential palace. Waving red flags and holding up posters that read: “We work to live, not to die” and “Lower prices, increase salaries,” the protesters rallied in the street, where they chanted and delivered speeches about the difficulties faced by Filipino laborers.

Poor drivers joined the protest and called to end a government modernization program they fear would eventually lead to the removal of their dilapidated jeepneys, a main mode of public transport, from Manila’s streets.

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Associated Press journalists Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and VJ Basilio Sepe in Manila contributed to this report.

A man with a flag of a local workers group waits for a May Day rally to start in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

People clap hands as they hear a speaker during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

People walk towards the site of a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Masako Obata, president of Japan's National Confederation of Trade Unions, also known as Zenroren, speaks during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

People listen to a speaker during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Participants march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Participants march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

People listen to a speaker during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Participants prepare for a march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Participants march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Filipino activists march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

Policemen try to block activists as they tried to march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

Filipino workers carry streamers and posters during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

A man carries a poster during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

Filipino workers carry streamers and posters during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)