On the morning of March 30, 2024, Veronica Butler, 27, left Hugoton, Kansas, with a court-approved supervisor, 39-year-old Jilian Kelley, to collect her six-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son at a pre-arranged meeting in the Oklahoma panhandle for a birthday party. The visit was supervised because of a bitter custody dispute with the children’s paternal grandmother. Neither woman arrived at the meeting.

Their vehicle was found abandoned in a rural area of Texas County, Oklahoma, near the Kansas border. The scene suggested a violent struggle: blood on the road, Veronica’s glasses, and a broken hammer were recovered. A multi-agency search followed.

On April 14 authorities recovered two bodies in a Texas County pasture; the remains were later confirmed to be Veronica and Jilian. An autopsy attributed both deaths to multiple sharp force trauma. Veronica sustained about 30 sharp force injuries, including defensive wounds to her hands, a head cut, and possible stun gun marks on her neck. Investigators have focused on the custody dispute surrounding the children.

If anyone has information about Veronica’s movements on March 30 or the meeting location, please share what you know.