Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Ronald Cummings's Enemies

by Pat Brown

Lots of speculation is swirling again now that Tommy Croslin and Misty Croslin are making more statements about the night that five-year-old Haleigh Cummings went missing. She has never been found.

Tommy claims Joe Overstreet strangled Haleigh but, for some reason, Tommy helped him get rid of the little girl's body. Misty says she hid under a blanket while Tommy and Joe did something, and she doesn't exactly know what it was. Joe says, "I didn't do it," referring to the Haleigh's homicide, but he doesn't actually say if he did anything else. Neither Misty, Tommy, nor Joe has said anything about Ronald Cummings, Haleigh's father.

Which leads me back to the most interesting statement ever made by Ron Cummings(right):

"You keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Who are these enemies Ronald Cummings is speaking of? Misty? How is Misty, who is his ex-girlfriend, ex-wife, and Haleigh's former stepmother, his enemy? She might have been Haleigh's enemy at one point in that she neglected Haleigh's care and possibly brought dangerous male companions around her. She might have left drugs about, which Haleigh could have gotten into.

Even more curious: Ron said "enemies," not "enemy." Who could the other enemy or enemies be? Is he speaking of Tommy Croslin, who is Misty's brother and the receiver of a beheaded rat in his mailbox? Is he speaking of Tommy and Misty's cousin Joe Overstreet, who supposedly ended up with a gun belonging to Ronald?

Why would Misty, Tommy (left), or Joe be Ronald Cummings's enemy? Let's take a look at the definition of "enemy." An enemy is "a person hostile or opposed to a policy, cause, person, or group, especially one who actively tries to do damage; opponent."

Why would Misty, Tommy, or Joe be hostile toward Ronald? He had just lost his child. How could Misty, Tommy, or Joe be a threat to Ronald? How would they be able to damage him?

There is only one answer to that. They know something extremely detrimental to Ronald which could harm him worse than the loss of his child. The only thing I can think of is that he had something to do with the loss of his child.

Ronald Cummings appears to have done damage control; he took actions to neutralize any threat against him. He used two different techniques. One was to threaten and the other was to buy. He delivered a very clear message to Tommy Croslin with the decapitated rat. Talk, and, I will chop your head off. Tommy, therefore, had to have knowledge of what happened to Haleigh that night and be physically terrified of Ronald. Or he had knowledge of what happened that night to Haleigh and committed an act of his own that was so egregious that Ronald could easily blackmail him.

And what did Ron do about Misty (right)? He bribed the then 17-year-old with what a girl like that would want most. A pretty ring, a wedding, and, well, maybe marriage, although a lot of young girls are more into the first two than the actual state of matrimony. Misty clearly had some level of involvement in what occurred that night at the trailer, so a pact with Ronald to show solidarity gave her, in return for her silence, a level of safety and an appearance, to some extent, of innocence (because no father of a murdered or abducted child would marry a person he really felt was guilty of such a crime). Of course, Ron also might have mistakenly thought that making Misty his spouse would prevent her from testifying against him in court.

And then we have Joe Overstreet. How did Joe get caught up in all of this? What does he know? Was he there? Why would he kidnap, kill, or assault a child because he can't find a gun? This story pushed by Misty and Tommy makes little sense. Unless, perhaps, Ronald gave him the gun to shut him the hell up, maybe a gun he wanted to get rid of. Could the gun be the cause of death for Haleigh? Did the gun go off in Ron's hand and Haleigh end up shot? There is no blood in the trailer, but this doesn't mean it didn't happen. Depending on the caliber of the gun, how well Haleigh was wrapped in her bedding, and if she had any drugs in her system that might have slowed down blood loss, Haleigh could have died of a gunshot wound, leaving no blood behind once the body and bedding material were removed.

Did Joe (left) take a bribe for his silence and get himself into a lot of hot water? Maybe he was being truthful when he bluntly stated he "didn't do it," as in he didn't have anything to do with Haleigh's actual death. That doesn't mean he wasn't somehow in the mix that night. Now that Misty, Tommy, and even Ronald have him tossing Haleigh to the alligators, he has a three-against-one problem. If he speaks up in any fashion, he puts himself at the crime scene and, therefore, he could end up being charged with a crime far worse than the one he might have committed. If Joe was there, he is not going to say a damn thing.

Let's return to the original 911 call. What we find are two people trying to persuade law enforcement of their own innocence in the matter. Misty is trying to prove she was unaware of what happened that night while she was asleep, and Ronald is trying to prove he would be willing to kill whoever did whatever to Haleigh before he arrived home from work. The fact that he has shown little interest in following through with his threat leaves only one person as the main suspect in the death of Haleigh: Ronald himself.

Misty, Tommy, and Joe might have been there, might have partied, might have done drugs. Haleigh might have been sexually abused, but if Ronald had no part in what happened to Haleigh, he would have followed through on his claims of wanting to do damage to whomever hurt his daughter. Instead, he marries one of her "killers," threatens one of the other "killers" to keep his mouth shut, and may have bribed the third "killer," as well.

Ronald made a lot of phone calls home that night, yet there is no proof that he didn't leave work at some point and walk in on whatever shenanigans were going on. All we know is that Misty conveniently "woke up" just before Ronald conveniently arrived home. Misty, therefore, couldn't have been involved, and Ronald couldn't have been involved, or at least that is what they want us to believe.

As statement analyst Peter Hyatt will tell you (check out our discussion on my blogtalkradio show, Profile This!), there is a lot of truth in "them thar lies." Pay attention to the words -- "blanket," "water," "brick," "gun" -- and pay attention to the order in which statements are delivered, starting with the 911 call. You'll find the players are actually telling you what happened. Of course, to make any arrests, proof of exactly what happened must include strong physical and behavioral evidence that can be used in a court of law. That is why, at this moment, no one is standing trial for the murder of Haleigh Cummings.

One thing is for sure, though, at least from the information we have to date: Ronald Cummings is in bed with his "enemies," and, I would think most detectives and profilers would agree, there is something seriously wrong with this picture.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

As of 8/17/10 The Putnam Co police have said Ronald Cummings is not a person of interest in his daughter's murder.

TigressPen said...

Something is definitely seriously wrong with the stories and snippets of information these people tell. I don't think any of them is as 'dumb' as people say. They are street smart and know how to give just a little information. Enough to start bountiful speculations running wild. And those specualtions confuse the 'facts' included in what they say.

Peter Hyatt is right about the words they use, not just by one suspect, but by all of them. And what that tells me is all of them Know. More importantly, Ron is the head of the clan to me. Yes. He knows what happened to Haleigh. He was the purveyor of the events for and of that day/night. Still is.

Snippets work apparently, because sadly, the truth isn't as proof valid as the words included in their bountiful stories.

Anonymous said...

i know some how some way ronald knows something....

Pat Brown said...

Yup, and Terri Horman isn't a suspect in the disappearance of Kyron Horman either.

Here are the actual possibilities:

1. Ronald Cummings had zero connection to his daughter's murder and this has been proven by a totally airtight alibi. This kind of alibi is rare to establish unless the murder happens during a period of time when you are delivering a sermon from the pulpit or you are out of the country at the time on the other side of an ocean or there is undoctored videotape of your movements for the entire time period (and not just you coming in and out of a room being taped). For this to be true for Ronald, we would need to know there was absolutely no way off the grounds of his place of employment without him being seen on videotape (and we can't trust witnesses who might be incorrect or bribed).

2. Ronald could leave the grounds and the police know this but won't use the term "person of interest" for legal reasons or because they don't want to tip him off that they are on to him.

3. The police believe Ronald is innocent because of his "tears" and, therefore, never bothered to follow up on his whereabouts.

As a profiler who has worked on cases with police departments, I have seen all scenarios. I have reviewed cases where, yes, a person has been eliminated as the perpetrator because he couldn't - really couldn't - have done it. I have seen other eliminated because their girlfriends or moms vouched for them! I have seen yet others eliminated because the detective liked the guy or had a hard-on for another suspect and simply never even bothered to check that person out. Sometimes cameras have the time skewed on them or witnesses are simply wrong. All kinds of things happen behind the scenes that we do not know at this time. What I do know is that Ronald Cummings is awfully darn friendly with people who did his child in.

Anonymous said...

Great article Pat and I believe you are right on the money! Check this video out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooJAoUxoSkU

Leah said...

I was sick last week when I saw the grandmother on NG talk about Haleigh being raped. If Ron can pal around with scum that raped his daughter, he has to know everything and helped cover it up. If not been more directly involved. I always thought he was involved though. I wonder why Junior didn't identify Tommy or Joe. Did police ever interview him?? I suppose its possible that Junior had never met either of them before.

Madison said...

if you watch the tape of thier drug bust, Miaty is happily chomping gum, and at one point Ronald says "at this price, I might just buy 'em and eat 'em." A REAL strog piece of evidence that he is also a druggie, and all is "enemies" are persons he still covorts with.she referred to him as "babe". it made me sick, as he should have been woriking on trying to find his daughter, unless he knows she will never be found.

Sandy said...

I've thought Ronald was involved from the beginning. At first I thought he may have hurt her before going to work, and planned out going to work as his aliby. But either way, it seems to me that the only real grieving survivor is Haleigh's Mom.

Looking for Justice said...

On Texas Equusaerch web page back in August 2009. It stated that Ronald Cummings told Tim Miller the beds were made when he got home from work. It also states that LE confirmed Rons story. That means Ron was aware that Misty or the children could not of been sleeping or cowering under the covers. Why did he and his mother,Teresa defend Misty before and after the test with Tim Miller? Why did he marry her with this knowledge? Why did Teresa Neves say if this story is true Misty needs to be hung. Why only Misty? Why not all three? Why did Annette Sykes and Teresa Neves go out searching the woods at Shell Harbour after Misty asked Flo Hollars to call them with she and Tommys story and the fact LE had been notified. Haleigh was allegedly dumped in the river. Why were they searching the woods? This also establishes a line of communication between Ron and Misty.

Raegan said...

The reason Ron said enemies not enemy is because that is exactly how the saying goes"Keep your friendS close and your enemieS closer." Everything people have that supposed to point to his guilt is pure speculation. Also I don't think Law enforcement is so inadequate and easily manipulated that Ronald's tears are the reason he IS NOT a person of interest.

Ironside said...

Yes Pat agree with you 100%, they plotted and planned it together . Is there a law in the States if you are married you cannot speak against your spouse? If not I have no idea why they married.

Misty, why all the emphasise on the blanket? The blanket is important, at least it is to Misty.

But as in the McCann case...no body...no crime.

Anonymous said...

I think when he made that statement he intended for others to believe he was marrying her in order to somehow get information from her, or get her to admit to wrong-doing. That dosen't mean he wasn't involved however, he could just be doing that to gain favor with police and pass himself off as the caring, victimized father who lost a child. I'm curious as to what his motivation would be though? Was it to get back at the childs mother? gain a profit of some sort? or simply to rid himself of his fatherly responsibilities? DO you think the child could have accidentally overdosed on some of his drugs, and he simply panicked and staged a scenario that made it seem more sinister in order to throw police off scent? It seems that if a gun had gone off in a trailor park someone would have called it in, but thats not always so in such an area.

Anonymous said...

You all give these yokels way too much credit. Collectively, they couldn't possibly be wiley enough to create anything beyond a recipe for possum stew. They are no more than ill-educated, bungling trailer trash. Ronald is innocent of involvement in the disappearance of his daughter having left her in the hands of his underage girlfriend who has the intelligence of a gnat.

He is no son to be proud of but I do not believe he is any way involved in a conspiracy of inept, lying fools that are only trying to cover their own butts and have no idea how to go about it. They just don't have the smarts. They stumble from one lie to the next yet it always remains between the 3 pigs originally suspected... Misty, her brother Tommy who strongly resembles the banjo player in The Deliverance and that scared-stupid cousin Joe.

They just don't have the intellect to concoct anything remotely believable... They are morons to the nth degree.