Judge Delays Cullum, Twombly Murder Trials Amid Dozens of Motions

A Texas County judge postponed jury trials for Tad Cullum and Cole Twombly after defense teams filed more than 30 pretrial motions, saying the court must preserve due process and ensure a fair trial for both defendants. The decision came in Guymon on Jan. 23, 2026, and will stretch the timeline for cases tied to the murders of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley.

The court denied Tad Cullum’s motion to dismiss his charges, finding sufficient evidence during the preliminary examination to proceed. Defense lawyers for Cullum then submitted a broad slate of motions seeking rulings on matters ranging from constitutional challenges to courtroom procedure. Among those filings was a motion arguing that the death penalty is unconstitutional and amounts to cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. Other motions seek to exclude photos of the victims while they were alive and to impose restrictions on how the victims’ families may appear in court.

One filing reads exactly "to instruct the victim’s family not to sit directly before the jury and to not openly show any emotion or to make any prejudicial expressions while sitting in the courtroom during the course of the trial." That motion contends visible displays of grief could unfairly influence jurors.

The judge moved Tad Cullum’s jury trial to Oct. 16, 2026, and rescheduled Cole Twombly’s jury trial for February 2027. Cullum will return to court for a motion hearing on Feb. 25, 2026. Prosecutors, defense counsel, and the judge will use the intervening months to brief contested legal issues and prepare for evidentiary arguments that could shape trial procedure and sentencing options.

For Texas County residents, the delays carry multiple local consequences. The extended pretrial period prolongs uncertainty for the families of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley and slows closure for the community. The high volume of motions will consume court resources, potentially affecting jury selection calendars and other dockets in Guymon. The death-penalty challenge could have wider legal implications beyond these cases if courts in the region or state take up constitutional questions that alter sentencing practices.

The motions limiting victim-family behavior raise policy and civic concerns about courtroom decorum and the balance between ensuring an impartial jury and respecting families’ rights to grieve. Local officials and legal observers will be watching how the judge rules on evidentiary exclusions and procedure, since those rulings will shape how the trials unfold and what jurors see and hear.

What happens next: attorneys will litigate the motions at the Feb. 25 hearing and in subsequent filings; residents should expect a protracted legal process with key rulings that could influence sentencing and courtroom practice in Texas County.