SoonerQueen
08-17-2010, 03:19 PM
The Associated Press
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- The woman who was at home with Haleigh Cummings the night she disappeared told investigators she heard the girl being attacked, her attorney said Tuesday.
Attorney Robert Fields said 18-year-old Misty Croslin told investigators the attack came after her cousin arrived looking for a gun belonging to Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings. Croslin was living in a Satsuma mobile home with Cummings at the time. The two later married but then broke up.
Croslin told investigators she saw her cousin Joe Overstreet put the screaming child in a black bag, and she heard a van door open and close outside.
"Haleigh was a substitute" for the missing gun, Fields said.
Croslin hid beneath a sheet with Cummings' 3-year-old son during the attack, said Fields, speaking with reporters after her court appearance in St. Johns County on unrelated drug trafficking charges.
Fields did not immediately return follow-up phone messages or e-mails from The Associated Press.
In a statement, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said authorities would not discuss any information about the case.
"The Haleigh Cummings investigation is far too important to be jeopardized by releasing this type of sensitive information," said Lt. Johnny Greenwood.
Previously, Croslin's family has said Overstreet was at the mobile home the night Haleigh disappeared.
He was arrested on drug charges last week in Tennessee, but he has never been charged or named as a suspect in Haleigh's disappearance. His attorney, Shawn P. Sirgo of Nashville, Tenn., told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Overstreet had nothing to do with the child's disappearance.
He told The Florida Times-Union that Croslin has changed her story numerous times.
"I don't believe anything she said," he said.
Croslin pleaded no contest Tuesday to a charge of trafficking in oxycodone at a St. Johns County truck stop. She pleaded no contest to seven similar charges in Putnam County on Monday.
Fields said Croslin gave her account to investigators after her arrest on the drug charges in January. Cummings also was arrested, along with Croslin' brother and two others, in an undercover sting.
The sheriff's office has questioned Croslin's credibility in the past. She also has said she awoke at 3 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2009, to find Haleigh missing and a back door propped open by a brick.
Tuesday marks Haleigh's 7th birthday. After Croslin's plea hearing, Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, told reporters that she believes investigators are doing the best they can.
"Do I believe my daughter's dead? No," she said. "And until they show me something, I won't."
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/17/1779901/croslin-says-she-heard-haleigh.html#ixzz0wtmCh8wo
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- The woman who was at home with Haleigh Cummings the night she disappeared told investigators she heard the girl being attacked, her attorney said Tuesday.
Attorney Robert Fields said 18-year-old Misty Croslin told investigators the attack came after her cousin arrived looking for a gun belonging to Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings. Croslin was living in a Satsuma mobile home with Cummings at the time. The two later married but then broke up.
Croslin told investigators she saw her cousin Joe Overstreet put the screaming child in a black bag, and she heard a van door open and close outside.
"Haleigh was a substitute" for the missing gun, Fields said.
Croslin hid beneath a sheet with Cummings' 3-year-old son during the attack, said Fields, speaking with reporters after her court appearance in St. Johns County on unrelated drug trafficking charges.
Fields did not immediately return follow-up phone messages or e-mails from The Associated Press.
In a statement, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said authorities would not discuss any information about the case.
"The Haleigh Cummings investigation is far too important to be jeopardized by releasing this type of sensitive information," said Lt. Johnny Greenwood.
Previously, Croslin's family has said Overstreet was at the mobile home the night Haleigh disappeared.
He was arrested on drug charges last week in Tennessee, but he has never been charged or named as a suspect in Haleigh's disappearance. His attorney, Shawn P. Sirgo of Nashville, Tenn., told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Overstreet had nothing to do with the child's disappearance.
He told The Florida Times-Union that Croslin has changed her story numerous times.
"I don't believe anything she said," he said.
Croslin pleaded no contest Tuesday to a charge of trafficking in oxycodone at a St. Johns County truck stop. She pleaded no contest to seven similar charges in Putnam County on Monday.
Fields said Croslin gave her account to investigators after her arrest on the drug charges in January. Cummings also was arrested, along with Croslin' brother and two others, in an undercover sting.
The sheriff's office has questioned Croslin's credibility in the past. She also has said she awoke at 3 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2009, to find Haleigh missing and a back door propped open by a brick.
Tuesday marks Haleigh's 7th birthday. After Croslin's plea hearing, Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, told reporters that she believes investigators are doing the best they can.
"Do I believe my daughter's dead? No," she said. "And until they show me something, I won't."
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/17/1779901/croslin-says-she-heard-haleigh.html#ixzz0wtmCh8wo