Suspect in Murder of Kansas Women Waives Preliminary Hearing

A suspect charged in the deaths of two Kansas women in Oklahoma is waiving her right to a preliminary hearing.

Cora Twombly waived her right to a preliminary hearing and right to a speedy trial this week.

Twombly faces charges including first-degree murder in the deaths of Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelly.

The women disappeared in March while traveling for a supervised visit of Butler’s children in Texas County, Oklahoma.

A search warrant revealed the women’s bodies were found inside a chest freezer during a two-day excavation of the burial site nearly nine miles from Butler’s abandoned car.

Search warrant records also reveal what is believed to be blood found on duct tape, a sheath, a black knife, a ball cap and cloth gloves. In addition, documents allege one of the suspects asked whether DNA could survive in churned dirt in a 15-foot-deep hole.