How Did the Side Door Get Opened?/Door Locks/Use of Cinder Block**REVISITED**

[lonetraveler]

I don't know if he is talking about replacing locks on both doors or just talking about the backdoor since that is the focus of the conversation. There is a deadbolt and then another lock under that on the back door.

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Busylady, I should have also bolded the last sentence on your post because he states deadbolts and locks:

"But I do know that I personally went to Wal-Mart and bought the deadbolts and the locks that were on there so nobody else had a key to this house."


This is what made me think that he had replaced the locks to both doors. It would not make sense to me that he would replace only one if he was concerned that someone who had lived there prior to him would have keys to the locks. See what I mean?

 

[Busylady]

You might be right, it would definitely make sense that all locks were replaced at the same time.

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Busylady, I should have also bolded the last sentence on your post because he states deadbolts and locks:

"But I do know that I personally went to Wal-Mart and bought the deadbolts and the locks that were on there so nobody else had a key to this house."


This is what made me think that he had replaced the locks to both doors. It would not make sense to me that he would replace only one if he was concerned that someone who had lived there prior to him would have keys to the locks. See what I mean?

 

[Donjeta]

Here's another video of Ronald Cummings saying that Haleigh couldn't open the back door by herself.

YouTube - Greta 2/11/09 Part 2

 

[Shaymus at The Rock]

Here's another video of Ronald Cummings saying that Haleigh couldn't open the back door by herself.

YouTube - Greta 2/11/09 Part 2

Thanks for posting that, Donjeta ! The doors and locks are an interesting topic, imo.

At 4:27 into the video, Ron says he locked "those doors" himself. I hadn't realized that he locked more than the side door before we went to work. So, I assume Misty and the children were locked indoors at this time. Or, were Misty and children not in the MH when he locked it up ? Per Ron, this would've been about 4:00 or so in the afternoon, right ?

Is it true that Ron had the only keys to the MH ?

IIRC, the deadbolt on the side door just needed a knob to turn in order to open it from indoors. However, that knob that was difficult to turn. IIRC, Ron deliberately installed the lock in a manner that would somewhat "child-proof" the door. If he was worried about a child opening a door, I assume the lock on the front door was installed in the same manner. That seems like a fire hazard to me - but perhaps one of the children had opened a door before in the middle of the night ? Wasn't there an incident about Haleigh ending up in canal ? Had she opened a door and wandered off then ? If so, Ron would've had to weigh the respective risks - fire hazard vs child wandering off. Maybe Jr was the wandering type ?

Or was the front door lock different because there was a window either in the door or within arm's reach of it ? In that case, a deadbolt lock that requires a key from either side of the door is recommended. Anyone know if the front door of the MH had or was within an arm's reach of a window ?

 

[debs]

Shaymus, makes me start to wonder whether Ronald made a change of the locks after Misty's wild weekend. She takes off, he figures they're done, changes the locks to make sure she doesn't get in, and then they make up, Misty comes home, but she doesn't have a key to the new locks yet. Your thought about the front door needing a key is interesting and would explain why the back door would be used for egress/ingress when Ronald leaves. (ETA: Re-listened and Ron states that Misty was standing at the door, the door was opened. What we all assume is that she's standing in the front door, but I don't hear that; he just says he pulled into the yard and she's standing there. He does later state Misty told him the back door was open when she woke up, but again, I'm not clear as to which door she was standing in, at least from this video. "Yes, I never walked through the door. Um, I pulled in the yard and she ... the door was open and she was standing there waiting on me and I asked her what she was still doing up and she then told me that..um....the back...that she got up to use the restroom and the back door was wide open and that my daughter was missing.")

So if Misty, fresh with new locks, wants to make sure the back door doesn't close and lock on her if she goes outside maybe for a cigarette and to talk on the cell phone with friends or whatever, catching the door on clothes, bricking the screen door so it doesn't lock too (she could imagine it would if Ronald has gone into the same sort of litany about the doors as we get here; she'd wonder whether they would all lock on her if she went outside).

Curious.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

Donjeta, thanks for posting that video. I don't watch GVS. Watching this video, I noticed the difference in RC's body language as it usually is when appearing with MC. With MC, he's very tense and on edge. His jaw is clenched and he even tries to coax her on some answers. In this vid with his sister, he's much more a natural, grieving father. He even cries when his sis talks of what may have happened to Haleigh, which he never does when MC does the same. Interesting . . .

I also wonder about his being adamant about checking the lock(S) and purposely installing it so a child couldn't open it. Either he is trying to over do his being a good parent OR one of the children have tried to leave before. I have 3 kids, and I've never worried about them unlocking the door and leaving unnoticed. I would, however, worry about that if they had done it before . . .

Debs, great idea about RC changing the locks because of MC's behavior. Definitely makes sense to me with the door being propped and all -- :waitasec:

 

[elle1919]

Shaymus, makes me start to wonder whether Ronald made a change of the locks after Misty's wild weekend. She takes off, he figures they're done, changes the locks to make sure she doesn't get in, and then they make up, Misty comes home, but she doesn't have a key to the new locks yet. Your thought about the front door needing a key is interesting and would explain why the back door would be used for egress/ingress when Ronald leaves. (ETA: Re-listened and Ron states that Misty was standing at the door, the door was opened. What we all assume is that she's standing in the front door, but I don't hear that; he just says he pulled into the yard and she's standing there. He does later state Misty told him the back door was open when she woke up, but again, I'm not clear as to which door she was standing in, at least from this video. "Yes, I never walked through the door. Um, I pulled in the yard and she ... the door was open and she was standing there waiting on me and I asked her what she was still doing up and she then told me that..um....the back...that she got up to use the restroom and the back door was wide open and that my daughter was missing.")

So if Misty, fresh with new locks, wants to make sure the back door doesn't close and lock on her if she goes outside maybe for a cigarette and to talk on the cell phone with friends or whatever, catching the door on clothes, bricking the screen door so it doesn't lock too (she could imagine it would if Ronald has gone into the same sort of litany about the doors as we get here; she'd wonder whether they would all lock on her if she went outside).

Curious.

Hi Debs. I think it is highly unlikely that Ronald changed the locks on the door 2x. He said he changed the locks on the door when he moved into the residence. Personally, there has been a lot of research done on his residence and the fact that it is owned by a man that is known to rent to sex offenders. I would 100% change the lock on my doors if my landlord rented to numerous sex offenders in the past. I will go and find the video where Ronald talks about changing of the locks.

 

[lonetraveler]

Thanks for posting that, Donjeta ! The doors and locks are an interesting topic, imo.

At 4:27 into the video, Ron says he locked "those doors" himself. I hadn't realized that he locked more than the side door before we went to work. So, I assume Misty and the children were locked indoors at this time. Or, were Misty and children not in the MH when he locked it up ? Per Ron, this would've been about 4:00 or so in the afternoon, right ?

Is it true that Ron had the only keys to the MH ?

IIRC, the deadbolt on the side door just needed a knob to turn in order to open it from indoors. However, that knob that was difficult to turn. IIRC, Ron deliberately installed the lock in a manner that would somewhat "child-proof" the door. If he was worried about a child opening a door, I assume the lock on the front door was installed in the same manner. That seems like a fire hazard to me - but perhaps one of the children had opened a door before in the middle of the night ? Wasn't there an incident about Haleigh ending up in canal ? Had she opened a door and wandered off then ? If so, Ron would've had to weigh the respective risks - fire hazard vs child wandering off. Maybe Jr was the wandering type ?

Or was the front door lock different because there was a window either in the door or within arm's reach of it ? In that case, a deadbolt lock that requires a key from either side of the door is recommended. Anyone know if the front door of the MH had or was within an arm's reach of a window ?

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IIRC, there is a video where Ron explains that he installed the locks a little bit crooked and the locks did not line up exactly making it where you had to lift up on the knob to turn it in order to unlock the door. He did not intentionally make the door difficult to open, it just turned out that way. He installed new locks so that he was the only one with keys to the locks.

 

[Shaymus at The Rock]

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IIRC, there is a video where Ron explains that he installed the locks a little bit crooked and the locks did not line up exactly making it where you had to lift up on the knob to turn it in order to unlock the door. He did not intentionally make the door difficult to open, it just turned out that way. He installed new locks so that he was the only one with keys to the locks.

But don't new locks come with two keys ? Here is a link to the least expensive deadbolt locks at Walmart - IIRC that's where Ron said he bought the locks. The description includes the word keys.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8251852

Maybe TN or AS had the other key in case of emergency ?

 

[elle1919]

But don't new locks come with two keys ? Here is a link to the least expensive deadbolt locks at Walmart - IIRC that's where Ron said he bought the locks. The description includes the word keys.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8251852

Maybe TN or AS had the other key in case of emergency ?

Most locksets come with two keys, in some of the better brands they even come with 4. We just can't know for sure who Ronald may have given a key to. In my opinion I would give the extra key to my mother before I would a significant other, but thats just me.

 

[Shaymus at The Rock]

Well, if Misty didn't have a key to the deadbolts, I'm guessing she didn't have a key to the doorknob locks either. If that's the case, anytime she left the the MH, for any reason, she would have to leave the MH unsecured. If Ron usually left for work at 4 ish, that would make for a long evening - especially with her brother and SIL living within walking distance.

 

[Donjeta]

Well, JMO but I don't see how she could function as the babysitter if she didn't have the keys. Haleigh would need to be picked up at the bus stop and they'd go to the store and outside to play etc, and if they wanted to go out when he's not home they'd have to leave the home unlocked so they could return. It would be unsafe, and I don't see RC allowing it if he was worried enough to keep checking the locks of a never-used back door daily. There would have been no point in changing the locks of the back door at all if the front door used to be unlocked while the house was empty during the daytime.

I think if he trusted his children in Misty's care, he'd trust her enough to let her have the keys to his home, and hers too.

 

[Shaymus at The Rock]

Well, I would think so as well, but Ron did say he locked "those doors" before he left. So either Misty and kids were in the house and Ron locked them in when he left, or Misty and the kids weren't there at all when Ron left for work. IMO, it's a good idea to keep the doors locked, even when your're in the house, but if Misty didn't have keys, that would've felt pretty confining to me. Would Misty have objected to being locked in if she was there ? Does anyone remember when/where Ron discussed the keys to the MH ? IIRC, he said he had the only keys - but I dont' remember where/when it was reported.

 

[Donjeta]

Well, I would think so as well, but he did say he locked "those doors" before he left. So either Misty and kids were in the house when he left and he locked the doors behind him, or they weren't there at all when he left for work.

Did he mean the front door and the back door, or the back door and the screen door? Even if Misty didn't have the key to the back door she and the kids could have gone wherever they liked if they had the front door key.

If she didn't have the key to the back door and couldn't have opened it herself, even from the inside, without resorting to burglary, I think it might have come up at some point. She could have said that she couldn't have staged that door because she didn't even have the key and didn't know how to bump locks.

I wonder if any of the talk shows ever asked them about who all could have had a chance to get a key? I don't remember any which is a bit surprising to me, considering there were no signs of forced entry.

 

[Shaymus at The Rock]

Did he mean the front door and the back door, or the back door and the screen door? Even if Misty didn't have the key to the back door she and the kids could have gone wherever they liked if they had the front door key.

If she didn't have the key to the back door and couldn't have opened it herself, even from the inside, without resorting to burglary, I think it might have come up at some point. She could have said that she couldn't have staged that door because she didn't even have the key and didn't know how to bump locks.

I wonder if any of the talk shows ever asked them about who all could have had a chance to get a key? I don't remember any which is a bit surprising to me, considering there were no signs of forced entry.

BBM

Oh, good question. Maybe those are the doors Ron said he locked before he went to work. I wonder why that side door worried him ?

I wish I could find where he says who had keys to the MH. I'm gonna look around.

ETA: Here's one instance:

CUMMINGS: I don`t want nobody to have keys in my house because I didn`t want this to happen.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0903/16/ng.01.html

I guess what we don't know is whether or not Misty was included in "nobody". My guess is that if that if there had been an argument leading to her absence the weekend before Haleigh disappeared, Ron would've confiscated any keys - IF she ever had any. But that is just MOO.

 

[lonetraveler]

Did he mean the front door and the back door, or the back door and the screen door? Even if Misty didn't have the key to the back door she and the kids could have gone wherever they liked if they had the front door key.

If she didn't have the key to the back door and couldn't have opened it herself, even from the inside, without resorting to burglary, I think it might have come up at some point. She could have said that she couldn't have staged that door because she didn't even have the key and didn't know how to bump locks.

I wonder if any of the talk shows ever asked them about who all could have had a chance to get a key? I don't remember any which is a bit surprising to me, considering there were no signs of forced entry.

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I have been researching that information as well. I reviewed a video today where Ron is stating that he locked the doors himself before going to work. What, did he lock them in? Doesn't make sense to me. Since my major belief is that Haleigh suffered a mortal injury prior to Ron going to work I feel that Misty did the clean up in the home (washed everything), Ron put Haleigh somewhere on the way to show up at work, and the mobile home was staged to look like an abduction prior to call 911. That is how I think the door was propped open.

 

[lonetraveler]

Well, if Misty didn't have a key to the deadbolts, I'm guessing she didn't have a key to the doorknob locks either. If that's the case, anytime she left the the MH, for any reason, she would have to leave the MH unsecured. If Ron usually left for work at 4 ish, that would make for a long evening - especially with her brother and SIL living within walking distance.

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Yeah, and remember the neighbors report of seeing the children outside playing? and the report that GGM saw the children eating on the front porch. This blows the statement that Ron locked the doors himself...........KWIM? Also, in one of Ron's stories, Misty is standing in the doorway when he pulls into the yard coming home from work. Makes you think that she had a key or the doors were left open. But, the doors being left open also blows Ron's story of locking the doors before he left.........go figure????????

 

[Donjeta]

The AC guy also had to get in somehow.

 

[lonetraveler]

But don't new locks come with two keys ? Here is a link to the least expensive deadbolt locks at Walmart - IIRC that's where Ron said he bought the locks. The description includes the word keys.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8251852

Maybe TN or AS had the other key in case of emergency ?

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I just remembered that I bought a new door lock set for a rental house and the box has never been opened. Guess what, two keys.

 

[Donjeta]

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Yeah, and remember the neighbors report of seeing the children outside playing? and the report that GGM saw the children eating on the front porch. This blows the statement that Ron locked the doors himself...........KWIM? Also, in one of Ron's stories, Misty is standing in the doorway when he pulls into the yard coming home from work. Makes you think that she had a key or the doors were left open. But, the doors being left open also blows Ron's story of locking the doors before he left.........go figure????????

Well, he can have locked the back door and the screen door all right, Misty was standing on the front door when she pulled in and the kids probably used the front door to get on the front porch. I think he was probably just talking about the back doors because that's what all the door talk on those talk shows was usually focused on.