Hello Lanie. I came to the conclusion long ago that none of us really know what happened to Haleigh. As theories go, your's is probably as good as any, essentially being that Misty did it and Tommy helped. I get it. It could be, but if true, there's something I'll never understand.
How and why did practically every member of the Cummings family rush to so strongly defend the very person who, according to their own storyline, was solely responsible, that evening, for the safety of this beloved child?
We've all seen the Art Harris interview, why did Teresa Neves so gushingly tell how Misty was the best girlfriend her son had ever had?
We all saw GGM's "That's A Crock" interview. Why did GGM praise this girl so staunchly that it almost seemed she was ready to fist fight anyone who said otherwise?
We even saw Crystal Cummings call the Nancy Grace Show and request air time so she could go on and on about how wonderful the very person who's only stated defense was that she slept through it all! Why did she do that?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but none of these people had even known this underage girlfriend much more than 2 months! TWO MONTHS! Yet roughly 30 days after Haleigh vanished, they're all at a party celebrating Ronald Cummings having married the very person your theory, and fundamental logic, would dictate as suspect number one! It didn't stop there either, did it? A couple of days after the party, they were ALL in New York yuck yucking it up with Ronald and this girl on their honeymoon!
I just don't get it Lanie. Your theory seems perfectly logical at first glance, but you know what really puzzles me?
A year later, why did Teresa's story about Misty change from saying she warmed her heart to wanting to see her hung like a witch at a public square?
Why did GGM's story change, a year later, from glowing acclaim for Misty to stating she only went over there because she was MAD that Ronald had let her come back?
For me to accept your theory as plausible, I need to understand why this family's stories about your suspect changed so dramatically. Most importantly of all, I need to know why they said what they did in the early days of this investigation if it wasn't true.
Thank you, Papa, for your response. For me, "Ron did it" didn't hold up to questions like these, and I want to see if "Misty did it" will. Another question I can add to these you've asked is how were the police not having to pry Ron's fingers from Misty's throat when they arrived...
I would like to have broken your post up, but I'm not good at that, so I'm just going to put my response in this lump here.
I think if Misty did kill Haleigh, she had to at least have believed when Ron got home and realized Haleigh was missing, he would kill her. So she had to think of a way to get him to not even consider she had anything to do with it. Even if she calls the cops and confesses, what if Ron can get to her?
She would have to come up with something convincing enough for him to believe, and that also makes her look like a victim. Maybe she told Ron some guys showed up looking for him to kill him or mess him up for something Ron had done to them. Maybe he stole a bunch of drugs or guns, something that Ron would think if the police knew they would arrest him for it. They were really angry Ron wasn't there, and they attacked Misty. Maybe she even said they raped her, or were about to rape her. The noise woke Haleigh up, and she came out of the bedroom. These guys decided to take Haleigh to punish Ron. If Tommy's involved, maybe she even had him tie her up to make the story more believable.
I don't know what all Ron was into, but IMO, for this to work he would have had to have done something bad to people he was scared of, for him to believe the lie and to not go after Haleigh himself with guns blazing, unless someone comes up with something I haven't thought of.
If something like this happened, then it makes sense to me why a person like Ron would then lie to LE to cover his own self rather than make Haleigh his number one priority. This would also explain why he and his entire family are so supportive for so long of someone with such a lame story, because they all know it's not what really happened, and they are protecting Ron.
I think this worked until Ron got busted for drugs. Then he's in jail, and the lines of communication were re-opened between him and LE. I think LE was able to convince Ron Misty was involved, at which point he began to see the light. I think Ron then, instead of making Haleigh his number one priority, kept his mouth shut until he made a plea deal with the cops.
To me, this explains why the Cummings were so pro-Misty for so long, and then did a complete about-face. It would explain why at least a few of the Croslins seemed more skeptical about the 'she was gone when I woke up' story than the Cummings were, as that would be the only story they were told.
This explains LE saying Ron wasn't telling the truth, offering him the plea deal, why he needed immunity, and how he has people to testify against. It explains why no charges have been filed, because at this point for LE it would be a he said/she said situation, even if they believe Ron.
IMO, one of the biggest problems with my theory is what Misty told Ron. It opens up a lot more questions for me I can't answer. I'll save these for another post, though.