michael cummins Tennessee’s deadliest mass murders’ The man accused of being responsible for one of Tennessee’s deadliest mass murders is set to go to trial this week. Michael Cummins is accused of killing eight people in April 2019 in Westmoreland. You can watch these trials and more on Law&Crime Network’s YouTube page.
TN v Michael Cummins
michael cummins Tennessee’s deadliest mass murders
Detectives believe Cummins killed his mother, father, uncle, uncle’s girlfriend and two of the girlfriend’s family at the family’s home. A seventh person was found dead at another home less than a mile away. An eighth victim was connected to Cummins after a headless man was found dead outside a burned cabin. One of his victims was allegedly 12 years old.
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The home where six people were found dead (AP News)
Cummins’ other relatives found the bodies after he had taken off from the crime scenes, authorities said. He was placed into custody after a manhunt — during the capture he was shot by an officer. Cummins was charged with eight counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder. He’s also accused of trying to kill his grandmother but she survived.
The suspected mass killer faces the death penalty if convicted.
MI v Shandron Groom
Shandron Groom
Shandron Groom is one of three men accused of killing Egypt Covington in Van Buren Township in June of 2017. Groom was arrested in 2020 and charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree home invasion, and three counts of felony firearm. Timothy Moore and Shane Evans have also been charged in the crime.
Detectives said Evans worked at the duplex where Covington lived. He allegedly knew her neighbor, who kept marijuana in his house, was going to be out of town, so he planned to steal it while the neighbor was away. Evans, Moore, and Groom are accused of driving to the duplex together where Evans pointed out to which door to the duplex to break into. Evans stayed in the car.
Egypt Covington
Moore and Groom allegedly entered the wrong door and walked into Covington’s home where she was watching a movie. The victim ended up being bound with Christmas lights and was shot in the head. Moore allegedly pulled the trigger.
Investigators say cell phone records place Groom at the scene of the crime. Opening statements are expected to begin Tuesday or Wednesday.
OH v Andrew Mitchell
Andrew Mitchell
A former Columbus police vice squad officer is scheduled for his retrial this week for the murder of a young woman in August 2018. Andrew Mitchell was indicted on murder and voluntary manslaughter charges for the death of 23-year-old Donna Castleberry. Mitchell went to trial in the spring of 2022, but in April, a judge declared a mistrial because jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict.
On the night Castleberry was killed, Mitchell allegedly picked her up in an unmarked police car during an undercover prostitution sting. Mitchell claims Castleberry stabbed him, so he shot her out of self defense. However, during the first trial, prosecutors said that she was shot in the back of Mitchell’s car while attempting to escape.
Donna Castleberry
Audio recordings played in court broke down the moments leading up to the shooting. Castleberry can be heard saying “do not put your hands on me,” “no, help” and “ please help me!”
ID v Lori Vallow Daybell
Lori Vallow Daybell
Lori Vallow Daybell and her fifth and current husband, Chad Daybell, are each accused of murder in the 2019 deaths of Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17. The children disappeared on different dates in September of that year. Vallow was initially arrested in Hawaii in February 2020 on charges of child desertion. The two defendants were indicted for the murder of Vallow’s children and Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell, 49, in May 2021. The alleged killer couple’s cases were recently severed and will be tried separately.
Joshua “JJ” Vallow, and Tylee Ryan
Vallow has been dubbed as the “doomsday cult mom” as she allegedly thought she was a “godlike figure” responsible for aiding in the “apocalyptical end times.” Jury selection is expected to kick off Monday, April 3. Vallow faces the following charges in this trial: two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception, two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and grand theft.
Opening statements are expected to begin Monday, April 9. No cameras are allowed in the courtroom. Audio recordings from each day in court will be released after the day is complete.
CO v Letecia Stauch
Letecia Stauch
Letecia Stauch is accused of fatally attacking her stepson Gannon Stauch, 11, in his bedroom in January 2020, in El Paso County, Colorado. Authorities claimed to find blood on a mattress, walls and floors, as well as in Stauch’s Volkswagen Tiguan SUV. Stauch allegedly claimed that a man named “Eguardo” raped her, and kidnapped Gannon. Investigators said she didn’t call 911 about her account, and she didn’t want to look into collecting evidence against the alleged attacker.
Gannon Stauch
Gannon’s remains were found stuffed inside a suitcase under a bridge in northwestern Florida in March 2020, about six weeks after Stauch took a trip there. An autopsy showed Gannon had been shot and stabbed, and he appeared to have defensive wounds on his hands.
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