HALEIGH CUMMINGS - 5 yo(2009) - Satsuma FL - Part II

Soon, most of the key figures in the February 2009 disappearance of Haleigh Cummings
will be in prison doing time on unrelated drug convictions.
Locked away with them will be whatever secrets they still might hold that could solve the case.
But legal experts say unraveling the mystery could hinge on classic legal
tactics in which key figures feed investigators more information in the
hopes of receiving a break in court.
After authorities in January arrested Misty Croslin and her brother Hank
"Tommy" Croslin Jr. on drug charges, the two gave a new version of how
Haleigh, then age 5, vanished from her Satsuma home.
But still, no arrests have been made in the girl's disappearance, and Haleigh has never been found.
Investigators with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office have declined to discuss the
evidence they have gathered and whether they have been able to connect
any suspects to the crime. They also have declined to say whether they
believe the Croslins, given the way their stories have changed over the past 18 months.
Now, the hope of Haleigh's family is that if the Croslins have anything more to say, stewing in prison could bring it out.
"They just need to say what they know," Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, said Friday. "I just want my baby back."
Attorneys for the Croslins this week related what their clients told authorities about events the night Haleigh disappeared.
Misty and Tommy Croslin contend a cousin, Joe Overstreet, came to the
Cummings home to steal a machine gun that Ron had brandished earlier in the week.
The gun wasn't there, so he attacked Haleigh and took her from the home, attorneys said.
Overstreet then drove in a van with Tommy Croslin to a nearby boat ramp, and
Overstreet threw her in the St. Johns River, attorneys said. The
Croslins did not tell authorities earlier, the attorneys contended,
because they were afraid of Overstreet.
A three-day search of the river in April between Satsuma and Welaka
failed to turn up remains of Haleigh. Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy
said then that authorities believe Haleigh is dead.
Overstreet is from Tennessee and is jailed there on drug charges. He has
previously denied involvement in Haleigh's disappearance.
Putnam County authorities have interviewed Overstreet but won't discuss the matter.
The tactics used by the Croslins' attorneys are not unusual, said
University of Florida law professor Bob Dekle, a former defense attorney and prosecutor.
It is not uncommon for defense attorneys to use information a client might have
as leverage to get a lesser sentence, Dekle said.
The information has to prove valuable for the gambit to work, Dekle added.
It is also fairly common for people involved in a case to implicate someone else in a crime, Dekle said.
"As a prosecutor, whenever someone comes to you with that sort of an offer
of information, you have to be extremely skeptical of the information
and you have to have a way of satisfying yourself that the information
is good information and not something that somebody made up just to get
out of trouble," Dekle said. "Some people take their secrets to the
grave. Some people, when those cold steel doors close behind them, start singing like a magpie."
Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, pleaded guilty Friday morning to three counts
of trafficking in hydrocodone. His attorney says he hopes his client is
sentenced to no more than 15 years in prison.
Ronald Cummings and other family members say they are skeptical someone would
take a child because a gun was not there to steal. They also say the
Croslins are still holding back information.
Cummings' attorney, Terry Shoemaker, said Friday that Cummings had met Overstreet
several times but that they were not friends.
"(Ronald) is a little skeptical about the gun-to-Haleigh theory. It's hard to
believe. I think he has a feeling there is still more to come out,"
Shoemaker said. "He didn't know (Overstreet) very well. They didn't get
along. He never said he didn't like him, but they just didn't hit it off."
Haleigh was reported missing from her home about 3:30 a.m. Feb. 9, 2009.
Ronald Cummings was at work while Misty Croslin, then Cummings' girlfriend, was home with
Haleigh and Ronald Cummings Jr.
Misty Croslin initially told investigators she woke up around 3 a.m.
to go to the bathroom and found that Haleigh was gone.
Homes and heavily wooded areas along the nearby St. Johns River were searched for days.
In January, the Croslins, Cummings, Cummings' cousin and a friend of Misty
Croslin were arrested after a series of drug buys in an undercover
operation. They were charged with varying counts of trafficking
prescription narcotics.
Tommy Croslin recently was sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug
trafficking and possession. Misty Croslin has pleaded no contest to
multiple charges of trafficking and awaits sentencing.
Even if they were to provide more information, evidence can be problematic
in cases that involve family members, Dekle said.
If, for instance, Haleigh's hair was found in the van, it could be argued
that it came from previous rides in the van. Or if Overstreet's
fingerprints were found in the home, they could have been left on previous visits.
"These all-in-the-family situations are very, very difficult for that very
reason," Dekle said. "The ... crime scene is going to have both the
victim's and the suspect's fingerprints and DNA and hair and whatnot all over the place."
Once sentenced and in prison, defendants still can receive a break should
they provide crucial information. It would involve finding a judge who
is willing to reopen the case so a new plea could be negotiated that
would bring a reduced sentence.
Shoemaker has some hope that could happen.
"I think there is a better chance of them coming forward after they've sat
in prison for a time," he said. "Once reality sets in and they say, oh
boy, 15 years is a long time and 25 years is a long time, I think that
will be a great motivator to try to rehash their plea agreement."

So Tom I have an "Annabeth Dingbat" question, why is Haleigh's thread under Amber Alerts and not Missing Children??

Annabeth wrote:So Tom I have an "Annabeth Dingbat" question, why is Haleigh's thread under Amber Alerts and not Missing Children??

You're not a dingbat Annabeth! I'm guessing it's so we can find it easily and by having it on the front page can see whether or not there is any news each day.

Haleigh reportedly dumped in river

Updated: Friday, 20 Aug 2010, 1:21 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 20 Aug 2010, 11:43 AM EDT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - An attorney says his client saw 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings taken from her home in a bag.

Attorney James Werter says Hank Croslin Jr. and his cousin, Joe Overstreet, drove the girl to a Putnam County boat ramp, where she was dumped into the St. Johns River.
Werter said Croslin and Overstreet went to the Satsuma mobile home where Haleigh was being watched by Croslin's sister. He wouldn't say what Croslin was doing inside the home, but he said Croslin described the girl as limp and quiet as the men drove to the dock.
Neither Croslin nor Overstreet have been charged in the case.
Overstreet's attorney has said he had nothing to do with Haleigh's disappearance in February 2009.
Haleigh remains missing. Investigators won't discuss any information about the case.
Red by me. I hope you all don't mind my trying a bit of amateur psychology/statement analysis but here goes.
I don't believe them because they say that Haleigh was placed in a bag but then Hank goes on to say that Haleigh was limp and quiet during the drive to the lake. But if she was in a bag he wouldn't describe her as being limp. I also think it's a stretch to believe that Overstreet attacked Haleigh because he couldn't find Rons gun he wanted to steal. It doesn't make sense and as good ole Judge Judy says, if it doesn't make sense it's not true.
This story isn't a true account of what happened so it does tell us that both Misty and Hank jr know what did happen to Haleigh and were most likely both involved that night. By making up this story and implicating Overstreet they are trying to steer the investigation in the wrong direction, so it seems reasonable to assume that the lake is also not where she was dumped.

kiwimom wrote:

Annabeth wrote:So Tom I have an "Annabeth Dingbat" question, why is Haleigh's thread under Amber Alerts and not Missing Children??

You're not a dingbat Annabeth! I'm guessing it's so we can find it easily and by having it on the front page can see whether or not there is any news each day.

---Sorry that answer is incorrect! However, neither of you two lovelies are dingbats. Haleigh remains in this section because of NCMEC.
Early on in the case, NCMEC agreed to issue an Amber Alert, despite the case not matching their ever lovin' criteria.
Their criteria calls for a suspect description and a vehicle description that was never obtained in this case and has become somewhat of a moot point.
Nonetheless, Haleigh remains listed as an Amber Alert due to NCMEC. Personally, I think she belongs in Missing Children.
For now, since all have become used to her topic being here I think it is best to let it be.

kiwimom wrote:Haleigh reportedly dumped in river

Updated: Friday, 20 Aug 2010, 1:21 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 20 Aug 2010, 11:43 AM EDT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - An attorney says his client saw 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings taken from her home in a bag.

Attorney James Werter says Hank Croslin Jr. and his cousin, Joe Overstreet, drove the girl to a Putnam County boat ramp, where she was dumped into the St. Johns River.
Werter said Croslin and Overstreet went to the Satsuma mobile home where Haleigh was being watched by Croslin's sister. He wouldn't say what Croslin was doing inside the home, but he said Croslin described the girl as limp and quiet as the men drove to the dock.
Neither Croslin nor Overstreet have been charged in the case.
Overstreet's attorney has said he had nothing to do with Haleigh's disappearance in February 2009.
Haleigh remains missing. Investigators won't discuss any information about the case.
Red by me. I hope you all don't mind my trying a bit of amateur psychology/statement analysis but here goes.
I don't believe them because they say that Haleigh was placed in a bag but then Hank goes on to say that Haleigh was limp and quiet during the drive to the lake. But if she was in a bag he wouldn't describe her as being limp. I also think it's a stretch to believe that Overstreet attacked Haleigh because he couldn't find Rons gun he wanted to steal. It doesn't make sense and as good ole Judge Judy says, if it doesn't make sense it's not true.
This story isn't a true account of what happened so it does tell us that both Misty and Hank jr know what did happen to Haleigh and were most likely both involved that night. By making up this story and implicating Overstreet they are trying to steer the investigation in the wrong direction, so it seems reasonable to assume that the lake is also not where she was dumped.

Sorry this is such a graphic image....but I remember Tommy or Misty talking about how he used to throw deer meat into the river...he probably would have taken her out of the bag at the docks..it sounds like Tommy is incriminating himself as being an accessory to murder to me. ):

TomTerrific0420 wrote:

kiwimom wrote:

Annabeth wrote:So Tom I have an "Annabeth Dingbat" question, why is Haleigh's thread under Amber Alerts and not Missing Children??

You're not a dingbat Annabeth! I'm guessing it's so we can find it easily and by having it on the front page can see whether or not there is any news each day.

---Sorry that answer is incorrect! However, neither of you two lovelies are dingbats. Haleigh remains in this section because of NCMEC.
Early on in the case, NCMEC agreed to issue an Amber Alert, despite the case not matching their ever lovin' criteria.
Their criteria calls for a suspect description and a vehicle description that was never obtained in this case and has become somewhat of a moot point.
Nonetheless, Haleigh remains listed as an Amber Alert due to NCMEC. Personally, I think she belongs in Missing Children.
For now, since all have become used to her topic being here I think it is best to let it be.

Thank you Tom you truly are terrific and I agree on leaving it here as we know where to come and look

Statement Analysis - Ronald Cummings' Involvment

http://seamusoriley.blogspot.com/2010/08/ronald-cummings-involvment.html

Croslin accomplice Donna Brock gets 15 years


Updated: Wednesday, 01 Sep 2010, 8:10 PM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 01 Sep 2010, 8:10 PM EDT


ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (WAWS TV) - One of 5
people arrested in a drug trafficking ring involving Ronald Cummings and
Misty Croslin was sentenced Wednesday in St. Johns County court. Donna
Brock, a friend of Misty Croslin, told the judge that she only
participated in selling the drugs so that she could get Misty to open up
to her about the disappearance of 5 year-old Haleigh. The judge asked
her why she didn't just tell police what she was doing and she said she
didn't know. Brock was sentenced to 15 years in jail and $100,000 fine.
Brock, Cummings, Misty and Hank Croslin and Hope Sykes were arrested on
charges of drug trafficking in January.

http://www.bloggernews.net/125193

Where is Haleigh Cummings?

Posted on September 3rd, 2010
by Jan Barrett

Levi On Crime

Monday, September 20, 2010

Did prosecutors make a deal with the devil to solve the Haleigh Cummings case?

Excerpt:

When news broke that the state attorney prosecuting Ronald Cummings on his drug trafficking charges, made a deal with Cummings, many people were outraged, because they held Ronald in such contempt for dealing drugs while his daughter is missing. They didn't want Ron to get a deal, they wanted him to get the max and spend the rest of his life behind bars, and finally be held accountable for his life of drugs. A life that he subjected onto his young children...

I was initially part of that camp. I'd love for Ronald to spend the rest of his life behind bars, I'd love for Ron to get the gavel brought down on him. But the big elephant in the room is the Haleigh Cummings case, and that beautiful missing child. It is obvious the police were using the drug charges to squeeze the truth out of all of those arrested such and Misty Croslin, Tommy Croslin and Ronald Cummings.

READ MORE: http://levipageshow.blogspot.com/2010/09/did-prosecutors-make-deal-with-devil-to.html

Ronald Cummings, Father of Haleigh Cummings, Gets Sentenced

"This morning, he was sentenced to three years and a $50,000 fine, 15 years and a $100,000 fine, and 15 years in the three cases, to be served concurrently."

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=168541

Haleigh's Dad Sentenced To 15 Years

Father Of Missing Girl Could Have Faced Up To 90 Years In Prison

POSTED: Friday, September 24, 2010

Excerpt:

PALATKA, Fla. -- Ronald Cummings, the father a girl who disappeared 19 months ago, will serve 15 years in prison and is fined $200,000 for selling prescription drugs.

. . . .

Ronald Cummings, 26, who pleaded guilty in August, could have faced a maximum of 90 years in prison, but reached an agreement with prosecutors that two of five charges he faced would be dropped in exchange for Cummings testifying in any future criminal trial involving the disappearance of his daughter.

READ MORE: http://www.news4jax.com/news/25142768/detail.html

Misty's Shocking New Confession?
Statement Analysis is useful for getting the truth out of statements or press releases. It is also applied to all writings including works of literature, emails, and journalistic articles. It is fascinating to apply it to the Bible. It shows indicators of veracity, as well as importance placed by the subject upon the topic at hand.

Statement Analysis, given enough sample, will even produce a personal profile of the writer.

Here, its use will be helpful as well.

In fact, we have seen that a statement can be judged on its form as "deceptive" even though each and every sentence is 100% truthful. The examples we have viewed here show that people will be deceptive by withholding critical information.

The gun went off.
My husband hit the floor.

Both sentences are truthful, but the statement tested Deceptive by analysis.

(she left out the fact that she pulled the trigger).

It was reported on the Jane Velez Mitchell show, "Issues" that Misty Croslin has been "cracked" by detectives and has given the "truth" of what "really happened" to Haleigh in the homicide investigation.

Misty Croslin has now has recanted her Cousin Joe story.
Students of Statement Analysis saw that Joe Overstreet appeared to have offered, unprompted, the "I didn't do it" on TV. This is something that the guilty (unprompted) struggle to do. We took it as truth, given if unprompted, though body language experts said he was lying.

Body language is fascinating and has its use, but must be based upon a standard for each individual, and that Statement Analysis, which listens rather than interprets, is far more reliable. Body language needs a reference point for each subject. (Dr. Eckman)

The article is in plain type; quotes in italics, with Statement Analysis (and commentary) in bold type.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within hours of Ronald Cummings sentencing Friday, The Bald Truth has learned Misty Croslin began to crack under relentless police questioning—and changed her story again.

Note the tense of "began" to crack. Did she crack? Did she regain herself midway? We note that when we are told something began to happen, unless the subject tells us it was completed, we cannot say it was. We do not interpret it as it was completed.

For reliability, our formula remains the same:

First person singular, past tense.

Any deviation is noted for weakness. "Misty cracked" would have been past tense.

Family members and sources close to the case tell me Croslin now claims she lied about her allegation that cousin Joe Overstreet snatched Haleigh to cover up yet another horror even closer to home.

note "family members and sources" as repeated throughout. Repetition indicates sensitivity. Note also order shows importance, with family members (plural) before sources close to the case. We will take a careful look at the family members' statements. Sensitivity indicators guide us.


During her four hour interrogation Friday, The Bald Truth learned exclusively that Misty Croslin now claims it was her own brother, Tommy Croslin, who came to the trailer that night, took Haleigh and fabricated the cousin Joe-machine gun story.

Note repetition of "exclusive" as sensitive; meaning it holds importance to the subject. Did others learn that Misty has now changed her story?

Then, my sources say, she told police Tommy pressured her to go along with it.

Harris is reporting this from his sources. What we are left wondering is:
How did Tommy "pressure" her?

What could Tommy use that would coerce Misty into making a deceptive 911 call?

Her attorney, Robert Fields, confirmed she met with investigators, but declined to comment further.

This would indicate that Robert Fields had access to this information as well.


“She told me she kept telling the police if they wanted to know what really happened, they had to get Tommy to talk, that he can tell them everything,” her mother, Lisa Croslin, told The Bald Truth after speaking with Misty.

Lisa Croslin has been deemed by some to be irrelevant to the investigation, yet here she appears to hold information directly from Misty. She quoted Misty as saying that if they (police) wanted to know (they do want to know) they had to get Tommy to talk. This strains credibility. Why wouldn't Misty herself just tell them what she saw Tommy do? This appears to be another lie from Misty Croslin that is being, again, reported as breaking news.

We have another linguistic indicator to watch. In this sentence, the subject (writer of the article) tells us that Lisa told this to "The Bald Truth" which is different than an individual. If this is consistently used, it is likely a truthful statement. It could have been told to staff, or to the author directly; but the information went to someone associated with the website.

Sources close to the family and the investigation tell me tell me

Now it is sources close to the family; which is not sources close to the case; and not family members; but sources (plural) close to the family itself.

We note also that these sources (plural) spoke to "me"; the author of the article, Mr. Harris. This makes it information coming directly to the author and should be noted.

it was about 1:30 p.m. Friday when the methodical grilling of Ronald’s’ 18 year old ex wife began. Only this time, it was with a well-prepared prosecutor with a fresh set of eyes, veteran state attorney Ed Davis of Daytona.

This would appear to say that Misty was "grilled" by a well-prepared veteran prosecutor which would give the reader a higher level of confidence since investigators have been interviewing (and interrogating) Misty Croslin since February 2009. However, that is not what took place according to the article. The "well prepared veteran prosecutor" only took the passive role of watching the investigators.


He was there watching as investigators hammered away at the inconsistencies and lies Croslin has told for a year and a half about the night she reported five year old Haleigh Cummings missing in February, 2009.

He only "watched" and would not impact the interrogation. Why then, is it noteworthy that he was "well prepared" and a "veteran"? He likely has watched the video of all of Misty Croslin's interviews by investigators.


Then the unthinkable happened. No longer able to hide from her lies, Misty Croslin cracked.

Note that the subject affirms that Misty now was telling the truth. How would the subject know that Misty "cracked" and was "no longer" able to hide from her lies? There is nothing within the article to buttress such a claim. This is written to give the audience the belief that what will now be reported is truth. The truth in reporting is that Misty was interrogated again and Misty has, again, changed her story and that an experienced and "well prepared" prosecutor watched the interrogation.

This appears to be identical to every other time Misty was interrogated by police since February of 2009. It does not appear to be anything in it that suggests truth from Croslin. Why is this credible more than the Cousin Joe story?


Amid tears, weeping and shaking, she blurted out that her brother, Tommy, did it and knows everything.

If Misty possesses knowledge that "Tommy did it" than Misty does not need to have them go to Tommy. She can tell them what Tommy did.

It appears that Misty Croslin is giving yet another story which, as is common with her other accounts, dismisses her own involvement. Misty will now have to explain why she has been so fearful, even while under Ronald's protection, that she could not tell police and why she has failed polygraphs.

Are we to believe that polygraphers NEVER asked Misty about Tommy?

Towards the end, she was distraught, yelling, and believed to be so shaken, required a brief suicide watch on a jail medical ward.
According to what Misty told her mother, during her interrogation, “she started going crazy, yelling and screaming,” she says, then wound up in the infirmary Friday night. “She wasn’t trying to kill herself, she was just very upset. She wanted to be by herself,” her mother, Lisa Croslin, tells The Bald Truth. “They put her on the medical ward with nurses watching. She said she felt like a squished up orange with no more juice to give.”

Interesting choice of wording. Misty has given out "juice" as if she was "pressed". How many times has she said the deceptive, "and that's all I know"? When a subject says this, they are withholding information. An honest person describing an event is never certain that they have told everything; a dishonest person will seek to end the flow of information by sounding frustrated.


Within hours, she was off suicide watch, and “the next morning told me she felt better,” said Lisa.


That was Saturday. “She’s scared to death and feeling the pressure. I keep telling her nobody will hurt her where she is, that she needs to tell everything before she goes to court,” Lisa Croslin went on.

If Misty was an orange squeezed until she had nothing left, why would her mother advise her to tell "everything" before she goes to court? This is an indicator that her mother knows Misty is lying; again.


”She says, ‘I told ‘em everything I know, Mama, that they need to talk to Tommy because he knows everything.’

Misty employs the language of deceit indicating that she is, once again, withholding information. The "experienced" and "well prepared" prosecutor likely knows this.



Whoever done this, got my daughter so scared, I don’t understand it.”
(Lisa Croslin)

Why would Lisa need to say "whoever" since Misty has already told her that Tommy "did it".


But her mother was adamant about one thing: “Whoever did this to Haleigh needs to pay for it, even if it turns out to be one of my children,” she says. “But I still feel like she’s covering up for someone else.”

We don't know from the text who Lisa Croslin is referring to but it may be Ronald Cummings. Ronald has several strikes against him:
1. He is a drug dealer
2. He is a liar
3. He revealed to Misty that Donna Brock was a plant sent to find out who did what to Ronald's daughter. Ronald sabotaged the effort to find out what happened to Haleigh.
4. Ronald cut off the head of a rat and put it in Tommy's mailbox; a tv version of keeping silent.

Ronald is involved with the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings. “Her cousin Joe story is a lie,” her sister in law Chelsea Croslin told me before it came out in her police interrogation Friday.

Note the timing of when Chelsea Croslin, Misty's sister in law, told the subject that the cousin Joe story is a lie: "before it came out" in Friday's interrogation. What is the time frame for "before" Friday's interrogation?
At the time, we hadn’t been shown the basis for her claim, though she cited private letters from Misty and other information she says she wants to provide law enforcement, but has had trouble getting through. “I was trying to tell them, but no one returns my calls,” she says.
"at that time" does not answer the question about timing.
"we" is plural. When the "temporal lacuane" is coupled with a weakened pronoun, it is an indicator of withholding information.
"though she cited private letters from Misty" would be, by necessity, past tense. The timing is not told to us.
"but has had trouble getting through" is passive language but it is reported as fact. Next, the passivity is removed and a specific detail given via quote:
"I was trying to tell them, but no one returns my calls" is in the present tense.
The sensitivity coupled with the present tense language of a past event (which the dating is withheld) deems this unreliable information. The lack of addressing a time frame (noted by phrases spanning time "temporal lacunae") also indicate a lack of reliability here.

Her mother tells me Misty calls her regularly from the St. John’s County Jail, where she awaits two October sentencing hearings in different counties on eight counts of drug trafficking that could fetch as much as 240 years behind bars. Tommy Croslin is also scheduled back in his home county for a motion to modify his sentence on Oct. 4, according to his attorney James Werter.
It was Tommy Croslin who lead investigators to the dock on the St. John’s River, claiming Overstreet picked him up at his house, drove him to the trailer to steal the machine gun, that Joe had snatched Haleigh when he couldn’t find it, and they went to the river to dump her. According to Tommy, he was high on Xanax, we’ve reported,
Note that Tommy's attorney reported on national television that Tommy was under the influence. The "cousin Joe" story was covered in media as fact even though law enforcement has not pressed Joe Overstreet, nor shown much interest in him.

and claiming he sat in the van while his cousin put Haleigh in the river. Only Misty’s now calling her own brother a liar.
Misty has, herself, lied repeatedly, and her failure of several polygraph shows that when the simple question is asked:
Do you know what happened to Haleigh?" and she answers "no" and fails shows that she knows what happened to Haleigh. By stating that the investigation needs to turn its attention to her brother in order to get this information is deceptive as well. Misty knows what happened to Haleigh, as does Tommy Croslin as well, likely, does Ronald Cummings.

Divers searched the river bottom, found no evidence or remains, and days later, sources describe detectives paying Tommy a visit in his cell to say not only were they not pleased, but aimed to make a murder case against him if he didn’t change his tune. Now, armed with Misty’s latest, sources tell me investigators plan to see what tap dance he’ll do to this music.

. “She’s obviously a desperate girl,” Tommy’s attorney, James Werter, told The Bald Truth Sunday. He’d not heard the latest allegation by his client’s sister. “I’d have extreme doubts about that one. It’s just not in Tommy’s nature or character.”

What does James Werter believe about his client? (see prior analysis on just how much information Werter gave the public in his appearance on "Issues"). Let's look at what Werter said:
"She's obviously a desperate girl".
In Statement Analysis, the shortest sentence is best and any words that can be removed yet not change the meaning of the sentence are deemed doubly important.
"obviously" is an attempt to persuade as what he says should be considered familiar or "obvious" to all.

"desperate girl"; not woman; girl being younger and desperate is an attempt to show her motive for speaking out. Rather than specifically answer the allegation, when a subject attacks the accuser it is a sign of weakness in confidence. Next, Weter does give us more information about Tommy. First, he shows a lack of confidence by attacking Misty; next:
"I’d have extreme doubts about that one. It’s just not in Tommy’s nature or character"
We note that additional words give us additional information. First we see a lack of commitment to his statement:
'I'd" is short for "I would". This is a slight weakening of commitment to the text. "I would like to say I am sorry" is different from actually saying, "I am sorry"; with the former showing distance but the latter being up close. Future tense.
Not only does Weter have "doubts" but he would have "extreme" doubts giving the sentence heightened sensitivity.
"about that one" About "that" one (that is distance; 'this' shows closeness.)

"It's just not" "just" shows reduction. Instead of saying "It is not in Tommy's nature or character" we have a slight reduction added;



note "nature" or "character".
What do we know about Tommy Croslin's "nature" or "character"?
We know that he is a drug dealer.
We know that he is a drug user.
We know that he showed no regard for raising his family and that he demanded his wife to bring money to him in jail rather than pay for his children's needs.
We know that he had an expectation of not being bothered while selling drugs and blamed Misty for "this Haleigh thing".
We know that he has lied repeatedly to law enforcement including failing a polygraph.
We know that he attempted to pin a homicide on his cousin which would have likely meant life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
What we do know about Tommy's nature and character does not convince us, nor Weter, that Tommy didn't kill Haleigh Cummings along with Misty, his sister, along with culpability on the part of Ronald Cummings.


Even Misty’s own mother doesn’t know who or what to believe, since Misty has changed her story several times since she first called Lisa and her father, Hank, about 3:30 a.m. the night she found Haleigh missing. She reached her parents in a hospital room in Gainesville, where Hank was semi-conscious, the victim of an accident involving a drunk driver.
Hank Croslin here is reported as a "semi-conscious, the victim of an accident involving a drunk driver". .

“She said, she couldn’t find Haleigh,” Lisa told me in our first exclusive interview in the Spring of 2009 outside her home in Satsuma, Florida, and posted at The Bald Truth to illustrate where Misty’s tall tales begin, including the family scapegoat, cousin Joe, now exonerated by Misty.
“I said, ‘Misty, go through the trailer and look everywhere, look real hard,’ and she said, ‘The back door is wide open.’ I said, ‘Call the PO-lice right now, and that’s when she opened the back door and found Ronald, standing in the doorway.”At the time, her mother was also pitching the Joe Overstreet theory, but now says there’s only one person Misty truly feared, her now ex husband, Ronald Cummings, convicted drug dealer, wannabe thug.
To hear her family tell it, Misty was 16 when they met, a grade school dropout with addict parents and siblings who grew up using lies to survive, then fell hard for a redneck Romeo, a veteran manipulator who preyed on underage girls, impregnating two others before he met Misty, including Haleigh’s mother, Crystal Sheffield.
Art Harris' contact with the family has brought many useful quotes to us for examination in Statement Analysis.

Crystal once told me he won her over with big shot bravado and charm that quickly faded into drug use, controlling her with fear and abuse, often brandishing guns and threatening to kill himself and others.
Crystal attempted to communicate domestic violence to Nancy Grace; but Ms. Grace would have none of it and instead used her superior intellect to humiliate Crystal Sheffield, effectively cutting off a source of valuable information to the public, so that she could continue to defend Ronald Cummings as he called her, "Miss Nancy" and portrayed a loving, grieving father on television.

Chelsea says Ronald would brag about his dangerous friends, and once took her and the kids to hang out on the edge of a biker community that felt like a scene from the movie, Mad Max. After Haleigh vanished, she said Cummings often remarked he could get her back for $35,000.
This story floated around often but law enforcement did not believe it. There were many who would have come forward with the money to get Haleigh back had there been the slightest suggestion that Ronald wouldn't have taken the money and left town.

Two locals who police have also interviewed tell me a wild-eyed Cummings stopped by their trailer within days of Haleigh gone missing, gun jammed in his waist, demanding they go with him to help rob a drug dealer. “I didn’t want to get involved,” says one man who remembers the night from the news that came on within days about Haleigh.
Law enforcement long ago ruled out the so called Mexican drug gang angle, focusing the missing child case on close friends or family; Chelsea now interprets his faux drama as a ruse…Cummings projecting the illusion of a distraught, angry father to cover up what she believes really happened: that Haleigh accidentally overdosed on his pills, and he ordered Misty to to “get rid of the body,’ with Tommy’s help.”
I believe that this gets closer to the truth.
The linguistic indicators that I have found in this case using the principles of Statement Analysis that are used universally on all statements point in one direction:
Misty and Tommy Croslin were directly involved in the death of Haleigh Cummings and that sexual abuse may have preceeded the death by overdose. Ronald Cummings had likely been drugging Haleigh (and junior) on a regular basis prior to this but may not have known that Tommy was sexually abusing Haleigh; with either Misty's permission, or, perhaps, as part of a trade of drugs/money for access to Haleigh.
Haleigh was a victim of child abuse prior to her death.
In the very least, she was a victim of neglect where Ronald left her in the hands of a drunk and high teenager and by the time Ronald came home from work, he still stopped at the store at 3AM to get beer. This means that he and his teenaged girlfriend would be drinking from 3AM onwards. Who would get up with the children at 5 or 6AM?
Then there are the pictures of Haleigh with sucken tired eyes and perhaps bruises. Ronald is a violent man as we have seen by his own words. In his statement to Geraldo (which is analyzed on this web page) he is not only deceptive, but also reveals just how violent he was towards her; insomuch as he had to sign an agreement with the Department of Children and Families agreeing to limit his physical discipline to her rear end. This presupposes that Crystal was accurate in describing Ronald has striking his children in the head and face.

Cummings attorney, Terry Shoemaker, tells me Ronald has cooperated with police and has nothing to hide, or he would not have been able to win a plea bargain of even 15 years. He maintains Misty knows what happened, that his client has no idea.
It is likely that Ronald has given them something of value in exchange for "only" 15 years.

By coincidence, Chelsea recalls Tommy found a rat in his mailbox, decapitated, a not so subtle message from a soon to be brother in law…
although future tense; this is an old account. They married and divorced since that time.
Chelsea says over the course of their brief marriage, Cummings isolated Misty, cut her off from her own family, and fought Tommy when he came to rescue her one day.
“If the right person talked to Tommy, I’m betting he’d finally tell the truth, too.”
What would cause Chelsea to say that Tommy would tell the truth if the "right person" talked to him?
Misty's "cracked" and has "finally told the truth" is untrue.
Misty continues to be deceptive, in particular,by withholding information.
Misty is consistent in attempting to protect herself. She has thrown Tommy under the bus before, in the drug selling business, so this is not new.
Each person: Tommy Croslin, Misty Croslin, and Ronald Cummings has only their own self interest to motivate them. They lie, deceive, and have shown loyalty to no one but their own selves.


Note this:
Misty Croslin, Tommy Croslin, and Ronald Cummings have all lied about the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings.
Misty, Tommy, and Ronald have the need to lie.

by mermaid55 Today at 10:01 am
Tommy has been transferred to St. Johns County Jail

Enlarge Photo
CROSLIN, HANK THOMAS (W / MALE)
Status: In Jail Inmate Number: SJSO10MNI002272
Booking No: SJSO10JBN004618
Booking Date: 09/29/2010 14:26:30
Age On Booking Date: 24
Bond Amount: $0.00
CELL Assigned:
Facility: SJSO
Address Given: 116 TYLER ST SATSUMSA FL 32189


CHARGES
STATUTE CASENO CHARGE DEGREE LEVEL BOND
901.04 OUT-OF-COUNTY WARRANT N N $0.00
901.04 OUT-OF-COUNTY WARRANT N N $0.00


mermaid55

Tommy has a court hearing today.He's trying to have his sentence modified.

08/26/2010 65 NOTICE OF HEARING SET ON 10/04/2010 AT 03:00

08/27/2010 64 NOTICE OF HEARING SET ON 10/04/2010 AT 03:00

09/01/2010 66 MOTION TO TRANSPORT PRISONER

Results of Tommy's hearing

10/04/2010 70 MOTION HEARING MINUTES: DEFT PRES, ATT BY JAMES WERTER
10/04/2010 70 MOTION FOR MODIFICATION OF SENTENCE - MOTION DENIED
10/04/2010 70 DECLARED INDIGENT FOR THE PURPOSES OF APPEAL
10/04/2010 71 MOTION TO DECLARE DEFENDANT INDIGENT AND REQUEST FOR
10/04/2010 71 APPOINTMENT OF PUBLIC DEFENDER
10/04/2010 72 AFFIDAVIT OF INDIGENCE
10/04/2010 73 NOTICE OF APPEAL
10/04/2010 74 DEFENDANT'S DIRECTIONS TO THE CLERK OF THE COURT

Croslin denied reduction in drug sentence

By Larry Sullivan
Published: Tuesday, October 5, 2010 1:55 AM EDT
A key figure in the Haleigh Cummings case lost his bid Monday for a reduced sentence on oxycodone trafficking charges.

Hank "Tommy" Croslin Jr. had petitioned to cut the 15-year jail term he received in August, with his attorney suggesting three to five years was more consistent with similar cases in Putnam County.

"Fifteen years might be a bit of overkill," defense attorney James Werter told Circuit Judge Terry LaRue.

But LaRue wasn't moved.


"I gave considerable consideration to it," the judge said of the sentence.

Croslin's sister, Misty, was babysitting Haleigh when the child was reported missing Feb. 10, 2009. No trace of the blond-haired kindergartner has been seen since and authorities say they believe she was killed.

An undercover investigation, complete with high-quality videos of illegal prescription drug sales late last year, quickly bore fruit, in stark contrast to the missing child-homicide probe. Several people close to the Haleigh case were jailed on drug charges in January.

Hank Croslin Jr., 24, was arrested on two counts of trafficking.

His sister, Misty, faces seven counts in Putnam County and another St. Johns County, and is slated to be sentenced later this month.

Ronald Cummings, Haleigh's father, in August was sentenced to 15 years after authorities dropped three of the five charges against him.

His cousin, 19-year-old Hope Sykes, received a 15-year prison term in April.

During Monday's hearing, LaRue reiterated his surprise that Hank Croslin Jr. and the others would engage in the sales since they were in the public eye.

"I had trouble believing that they could do that, and I still do," LaRue said.

The judge said he felt the 15-year sentence was fair.

"It was drug dealing," he said. "No doubt about it."

As he did last month, Werter blamed Croslin's problems on his home environment and drug addiction. He said Croslin had tried to "break the cycle he grew up in."

Members of Croslin's family sat in the front row of the courtroom. Some sobbed during the hearing.

Behind them sat members of Haleigh Cummings' family, several wearing T-shirts or holding photos of the child.

Prior to the 20-minute hearing, Marie Griffis, Haleigh's maternal grandmother, hugged Ronald's mother outside the courtroom and after the hearing they stood talking in the shade outside the courthouse.

Ronald Cummings mother said she supported Croslin's sentence.

"They're not in here getting a reduced sentence and I don't think he should have either," she said.

Asked about her son, Neves said, "I don't even think he should have been in there but that's how it goes."

In August, a prosecutor said Hank Croslin Jr. remained a suspect in the Haleigh case.

Defense attorneys recently said he and his cousin, Joe Overstreet of Tennessee, went to the Cummings home in Satsuma looking for a gun and not finding it, Overstreet abducted Haleigh and dumped her body in the St. Johns River.

Overstreet has not been named as a suspect in the case and has not been charged. He was recently jailed on drug charges in Tennessee.

lsullivan@palatkadailynews.com

http://www.palatkadailynews.com/articles/2010/10/05/news/news01.txt

Posted by Levi at WS on 10/04

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116189
Chelsea Croslin on the Levi Page Show tonight

Tonight Chelsea Croslin, Profiler Pat Brown and homicide prosecutor Donna Pendergast discuss the Haleigh Cummings case @ 9 PM ET!

Also, I have confirmed that Teresa Neves made rude remarks to Lisa Croslin after court & that Annette Sykes made a hand gesture of a gun and said "bam bam bam" and pointed at Flo Hollars, Flo's daughter & Lisa Croslin.

Listen here: http://tobtr.com/s/1299850
__________________
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/levipage
http://twitter.com/Levi_Page

Misty Croslin, who baby sat Putnam County child Haleigh Cummings the night she disappeared, is scheduled to be sentenced today in St. Johns County in a drug-trafficking case.

Croslin, 18, faces a long prison sentence after entering a no-contest plea to a charge of trafficking in oxycodone.

Circuit Court Judge Wendy W. Berger is scheduled to sentence Croslin at 1:30 p.m. in the Richard O. Watson Judicial Center in St. Augustine.

Croslin also faces seven similar charges in Putnam County, where she also pleaded no contest.
Croslin is thought to be the last person to see Haleigh alive before she vanished from her father's Satsuma home in February 2009 when she was 5.

No one has been charged in her disappearance, though Putnam County authorities have said the girl is likely dead and they are treating her case as a homicide.

Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, was dating Croslin at the time and came home from work to find her missing.

He also was arrested in a drug-trafficking sting.

Cummings was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay $250,000 in fines in connection with his drug-trafficking case.

The sentence came after he pleaded guilty to three counts of trafficking in hydrocodone. Two trafficking counts were dropped and he agreed to "provide truthful testimony" in future cases, including the one involving his daughter's disappearance.

Misty Croslin will serve 25 years in prison for trafficking drugs, a St. Johns County judge ruled today. The sentence is the minimum mandatory; she also is ordered to pay a $500,000 fine and serve five years of probation.She was charged with trafficking oxycodone, a prescription pain medication, but is better known as being the last known person to see 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings last year before her disappearance sparked a nationwide Amber Alert. Haleigh remains missing.Croslin took the stand in her own defense, saying that she started selling drugs because she grew up poor. "It is wrong to drug deal, but when you grow up poor, that is what you do," she said on the stand during defense questioning.She agreed that for the first time in her life, she is in control. She also was questioned by Judge Wendy Berger who asked her why she should be treated differently than her co-defendants.Croslin was arrested earlier this year, along with her ex-husband and Haleigh's father Ronald Cummings. Croslin's brother Hank was also arrested for drug trafficking. Both got 15 years in prison."I wouldn't be here if (the FBI) didn't come at me... I'm not a drug dealer," Croslin responded.Berger disagreed. In sentencing, she was unmoved by earlier harrowing descriptions of Croslin's upbringing. "You may not have a lot of book smarts, but you have a lot of street smarts," she said. "You are here because you sold drugs."
"You are a young lady who has committed bad choices," she said."You say you're not a drug dealer and I countered with you that you are. You deal with a whole heck of a lot of drugs," said Berger.Croslin's defense had also asked to be sentenced as a youthful offender. "I'm so young, I have a lot of life ahead of me....""But you like the money?" said Berger. "Yes," Croslin responded.Berger said she considered the youthful offender option. "(I) realized there is a hefty minimum mandatory, but the problem with youthful offender (sentencing) is the six years."The state argued with Croslin about her involvement in the drug deals; she has persisted that she was not the leader and that the drug contacts were the groups', not hers alone.She persisted that she was not into pills. "I'm into marijuana; I don't sell it, I smoke it."Misty Croslin's mother, Lisa Croslin, testified today on her daughter's behalf that she was a "terrible mother." She used drugs, she said, when she was raising her daughter, and that Croslin failed seventh grade, then never returned to school.Her mother and other family members were sitting behind her in the St. Johns County courtroom, and relatives of Haleigh Cummings are also in the courtroom.As Croslin became hysterical, her mother also said that she blackmailed her daughter for Xanax during the Haleigh investigation. She testified that she was unsure of her daughter's age, what a PTA is, and whether Croslin can add. Misty Croslin told the court she was raised mainly at a campground, was raped several times between the ages of 7 to 14, and had to care for her ailing grandmother, who was an amputee.Cummings also abused her, she said, and once beat her up when she told him she was pregnant. Croslin said she eventually found out that she was not.The first witness was Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigator Travis Smith, who said Croslin told undercover agents that she had four sources for drugs. At one point, she promised to buy 50 percoset, Smith said, adding that she did all the calling and transactions with the FBI. Smith said Croslin had a large network, 200 pills potentially. "That is a large amount of hydrocodone," he said."Why do you feel she is not innocent and she is a drug dealer?" her attorney asked. "She had multiple sources," Smith replied. "She had the knowledge...the prices were dead on with the market rate."Croslin was babysitting Haleigh in February 2009, and said the little girl vanished from the Satsuma trailer. There has been no sign of Haleigh since, and various stories about what happened to the girl have been offered by the Croslin family members over the past few months.The Croslins and Cummings were arrested as part of an undercover drug operation. Ronald Cummings was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison for his role in the drug trafficking. A few months ago, Hank Croslin was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Misty Croslin entered a no contest plea. She is also scheduled for another sentencing on charges of trafficking hydrocodone and/or oxycodone in Putnam County Court on Oct. 19. The State Attorney's Office said there are different sentencing dates and locations because the offenses were committed in two separate counties.Haleigh's family continues to hold out hope that new information about the girl's disappearance will turn up because of the drug cases.

Statement Analysis - Misty Croslin Sentencing Postponed till January

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Excerpt:

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — Misty Croslin won’t be sentenced on charges in Putnam County until 2011, but the last person to see Haleigh Cummings won’t be going far in the mean time.

READ MORE: http://seamusoriley.blogspot.com/2010/10/misty-croslin-sentencing-postponed-till.html