Ronald Cummings' Rat Alibi Rings Alarm Bells in Haleigh Cummings Investigation

The Art Harris Bald Truth blog disclosed some revealing information about Ronald Cummings, father of the missing 5 year old Haleigh Cummings from Satsuma, Florida that calls into question Ronald Cummings' motive in keeping Misty Croslin Cummings close at hand.

Misty, then Ronald Cummings' live in girlfriend, is believed to be the last person to have seen Haleigh before she disappeared February 10. Police have characterized Misty's statements about what happened the night of Haleigh Cummings' disappearance as incomplete and inconsistent. Ronald Cummings publicly claimed to have married his underage girlfriend Misty Croslin Cummings a month after Haleigh's disapperance in order to keep Misty around, saying he believes Misty possesses information relevant to the investigation.

Tuesday, Art Harris reported that Ronald Cummings used his young wife Misty Croslin Cummings as an alibi early last month when he falsely told police that he did not leave a headless dead rat in the mailbox of Misty's brother Tommy Croslin. Ronald Cummings allegedly told Tim Miller of Equusearch that in lying and using Misty as his alibi, he was testing Misty Croslin Cummings' ability to lie to the police.

The evidence is starting to stack up and it doesn't look good for Ronald Cummings.

Sham marriage to keep a teenager who has information about the night his daughter disappeared and whom he doesn't trust close by?

Demands that his young wife provide him an alibi as a test of her ability to lie to the police?

Alarm bells ought to be clanging in the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

On August 17, the sheriff's office issued a press release indicating that Ronald Cummings was not a suspect in Haleigh's disappearance. Ronald Cummings' behavior is begging investigators to take a second look.

Ronald Cummings' Rat Alibi

Ronald Cummings was arrested for battery against his brother-in-law Tommy Croslin August 6. Croslin stated that he feared revenge. On August 8, Tommy Croslin complained of receiving a headless dead rat in his mailbox, which he perceived as a death threat. When questioned by police, Cummings denied placing the rat in Croslin's mailbox, using partying with Misty as an alibi.

But when questioned by Tim Miller of Equusearch, Ronald Cummings reportedly admitted placing the rat in the mailbox, claiming that his alibi was a test of Misty's ability to successfully lie to the police. He allegedly claimed he wanted to see how well she could lie to police so he could judge how well she lies to him.

Those alarm bells are so noisy I can hardly type.

Ronald Cummings' bizarre rationalizations cry out to be disbelieved. Ronald Cummings took up with an abused teenager on drugs who dropped out of school in 6^th grade, engaged in sex with her when she wasn't old enough to legally consent, married her when the heat was on, and is now testing her ability to lie to police? Why does he need to know how well she can lie to police?

We are to believe it will help him assess whether Misty lies to him? That sort of utterly incredible rationalization is the hallmark of manipulators.

Asking Misty to lie to police for him during the dead rat incident would not only cover Ronald Cummings' tracks, it would put his 17 year old wife in legal jeopardy by making false statements to police in connection with an investigation, assuming the Harris report is correct.

Then, there's the alibi itself- the couple was out partying? Two days earlier, Ronald had been arrested following a physical fight that involved most of Misty's family and he was out on bond. Haleigh's birthday was coming up the following week with no trace of her - and Ronald manufactured the oh-so-credible alibi that the couple was out partying? Surely, he didn't expect anyone to believe this alibi. Was he trying to get Misty in trouble with the cops to make her even more dependent on him?

Ronald Cummings' interest in Misty Croslin Cummings' ability to lie to police is more disturbing when viewed in the context of his most recent Nancy Grace interview. Cummings opined in that interview that it wasn't necessary for Misty to take another polygraph test in connection with his daughter Haleigh's disappearance, despite Misty having reportedly performed abysmally on 3 polygraphs and a voice stress test as well as proving an uncooperative hypnosis subject.

It certainly looks like Ronald Cummings is more interested in assuring himself that Misty will keep lying successfully than in uncovering the truth about what happened the night Haleigh disappeared.

Draw your own conclusions.

Sources: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/Simon-Barrett/2009/09/18/Haleigh-Cummings-Update; http://www.artharris.com/2009/09/15/exclusive-misty-cummings-brother-tommy-jailed-investigation-update-haleigh-case-break-coming-soon/; http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090812/ARTICLES/908129940/-1/MAGAZINE?Title=Missing-girl-s-dad-accused-of-putting-headless-rat-in-mailbox; http://crimeseekers.net/forums/printthread.php?tid=3449; http://public.pcso.us/jail/booking.aspx.