Tennessee Man Who Killed 8 Gets Life in Prison in Surprise Plea Deal After New Evidence Surfaces

GALLATIN, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man who had been facing a death penalty trial within the killings of eight individuals in rural Westmoreland in April 2019, together with his dad and mom, uncle and a 12-year-old lady, pleaded responsible Wednesday to eight counts of first-degree homicide in change for a sentence of life with out parole.

The shock plea got here after Sumner County prosecutors got mind scans of Michael Cummins that confirmed “important issues,” Sumner County District Legal professional Normal Ray Whitley advised reporters after the listening to.

Protection attorneys may have used the scans to attempt to persuade a jury to not sentence Cummins to loss of life, Whitley stated. Whereas he thinks prosecutors finally may have prevailed in securing the loss of life penalty, he stated it was a “shut case.”

Choose David Homosexual and attorneys for each side had travelled to Knoxville earlier this 12 months to select a jury pool forward of an April trial date when the brand new proof was revealed, forcing a delay, Homosexual stated in courtroom Wednesday. Homosexual had dominated after a January listening to that Cummins didn’t have an mental incapacity. It’s unlawful in Tennessee to execute somebody with an mental incapacity.

Households of the victims agreed to the plea settlement, which brings finality and serves justice, Whitley stated.

On the time of the 2019 killings, Cummins was near being arrested for probation violations. He was on probation after serving 16 months of a 10-year sentence on a conviction for making an attempt in September 2017 to burn down a neighbor’s home and assaulting her when she tried to place out the hearth.

On Wednesday, Whitley offered the state’s proof, saying the proof at trial would have proven Cummins first killed James Fox Dunn Jr. on April 17, 2019, whose house was burned and rifle was stolen. A number of days afterward April 24, Cummins killed 69-year-old Shirley Fehrle, a retired nurse who had been sitting at house studying a ebook and watching a film. Prosecutors imagine Cummins didn’t know Fehrle and killed her to be able to steal her automobile, a black Kia that Cummins’ was later seen driving and officers discovered caught in a stream.

The next day, Cummins killed six individuals inside a trailer house, together with his dad and mom and uncle. His grandmother was wounded however survived. All eight victims died from blunt pressure and sharp pressure trauma to the top and face, Whitley stated. When Cummins was captured strolling out of the woods, he was carrying a hatchet with a blade on one aspect and a flat floor on the opposite, he stated.

Killed within the trailer house have been Cummins’ dad and mom, 51-year-old David Cummins and 44-year-old Clara Cummins, and his 45-year-old uncle Charles Hosale. Additionally killed have been Hosale’s girlfriend, 43-year-old Rachel McGlothlin-Pee and her mom 64-year-old Marsha Nuckols. The youngest sufferer was McGlothlin-Pee’s daughter, 12-year-old Sapphire McGlothlin-Pee.

Cummins’ grandmother, Mary Sue Hosale, was 67 on the time of the assault and survived. She later died of different causes, Whitley stated.

Whitley stated the proof reveals Sapphire was killed a lot later within the day than the others. College bus video and witness statements present Cummins ran to the trailer to intercept her as she returned from faculty. The entire different victims aside from Sapphire’s mom seem to have been killed whereas they have been sleeping earlier that morning, he stated.

“They have been caught off guard, and the brutality of the assault didn’t permit them an opportunity to struggle again,” Whitely advised the choose. He added “There was some proof that Rachel tried to struggle again, some proof of a battle.”

Sapphire’s father, Anthony West, was within the courtroom Wednesday however requested Assistant District Legal professional Jennifer Nichols to make a short assertion for him.

“He simply needed me to say how a lot he misses her, how a lot he cherished her, and what a loss that is you could by no means get well from,” Nichols stated.

James Dunn’s nephew Connor Dunn and brother Brad Dunn additionally spoke.

Connor Dunn stated he and his father acted as de facto caretakers for his uncle, who lived alone and off-the-grid within the woods. They might make common visits to ensure he had all the pieces he wanted. Connor Dunn remembers his uncle as somebody who cared for all dwelling issues and was a tremendous tennis participant. In an ideal world, he would have been a park ranger, Connor Dunn stated.

“He was not your typical brother, or neighbor or citizen,” Brad Dunn stated, describing his older brother as clever, articulate and well-read. When Brad Dunn was youthful, his older brother as soon as jumped right into a lodge swimming pool absolutely clothed to save lots of him from drowning.

“He was a peaceable one who cherished the outside and cherished solitude,” Brad Dunn stated. “All of it ended with a brutal and mindless homicide.”

Steve McGlothlin, brother of Rachel McGlothlin-Pee and son of Marsha Nuckols, started choking up as quickly as he began speaking.

“Your mom is the one that’s type of just like the glue — she holds the household collectively,” he stated. “I remorse that I didn’t spend extra time along with her. My sister as nicely.”

“I’m puzzled,” McGlothlin stated. “I’d wish to know why, however clearly we’ll by no means discover that out.”

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