The day before Michael Cummins allegedly went on a deadly rampage, killing seven people — including some of his family members and a 12-year-old girl — Tennessee probation officials were preparing to arrest him.
Cummins, 25, was the subject of an arrest warrant, which was prepared on Friday. The warrant followed the filing of an affidavit outlining all the ways in which Cummins had allegedly violated probation.
The next day, Cummins allegedly killed his 52-year-old father, David Cummins, his 44-year-old mother, Clara Cummins, and his 45-year-old uncle, Charles Hosale, inside a home in Bethpage, Tennessee.
WTVF quotes District Attorney Whitley, who confirmed the warrant was prepared.
However, authorities were unable to find a judge to sign off on it in time, he said.
Whitley told the station it is impossible to know if Friday’s tragedy could have been averted had the warrant gone through.
“You can’t predict human behavior,” he said.
Cummins is also accused of murdering Rachel McGlothlin-Pee, 43, her 12-year-old daughter, Sapphire McGlothlin-Pee, and Rachel’s mother Marsha Nuckols, 65. It wasn’t immediately clear if Cummins knew these victims.
A short distance away, at a second home, police recovered the body of Shirley Fehrle. Detectives believe the 69-year-old woman was targeted at random.
An injured victim of the attack remains in critical condition.
Police would not disclose that person’s identity, but a GoFundMe page established to cover Cummins’ parents’ funeral costs states the hospitalized woman is Cummins’ elderly grandmother.
Cummins’ probation officer said he’d missed several appointments and failed to complete his court-ordered mental health treatment.
The Tennesseean reports Cummins has an extensive criminal record, and that in 2017, he was arrested for attacking a female neighbor whose house he’d set on fire.
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He was on probation for that incident.
Because of his court-documented history of mental health issues, Cummins was spared a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to attempted aggravated arson and aggravated assault for those crimes. Instead, he was placed on probation for 10 years and released from custody in January, despite vowing to return and “finish the job.”
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