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Once Upon A Crime

Tennessee’s Family Annihilator - Michael Cummins

Once Upon A Crime

Esther Ludlow

History, Criminology, Crime, Criminals, Society & Culture, True Crime, Truecrime

4.65K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2024

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We kick off the ninth season of Once Upon a Crime with an episode that dives into the chilling case of Michael Cummins, a 25-year-old from Westmoreland, Tennessee, who committed one of the state's most horrific mass murders. Cummins, who had a history of mental health issues and violent behavior, murdered eight people, including six family members, in 2019.

00:00 Celebrating a Milestone: 8 Years of Once Upon a Crime 00:47 Start of Season 9: Family Annihilators 01:35 Case Overview: Michael Cummins 02:11 Cummins' Troubled History 02:48 Escalating Violent Behavior 03:34 Cumulative Legal Troubles 06:27 Mental Health Struggles 07:37 2017-2019: Increased Violence and Arrests 14:26 The Massacre 19:29 Investigation and Capture 20:29 Trial and Sentencing 22:40 Community and Family Reactions 25:18 Concluding Remarks 

 

Resources: 

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2019/04/30/sumner-county-killings-micheal-cummins-family-victims/3622442002/

​​https://www.newschannel5.com/news/westmoreland-murder-suspect-armed-and-on-the-run

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2019/04/29/sumner-county-killings-who-suspect-michael-lee-cummins-tennessee-homicide-mass-murder/3609438002/

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/brain-scans-of-tennessee-man-who-admits-to-killing-eight-convince-prosecutors-to-drop-death-penalty

 

Links: 

Once Upon a Crime on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OnceUponACrimePodcast

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This podcast details true crime cases.

0:03.0

It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence.

0:07.0

It is not intended for children.

0:09.0

Listener discretion is advised. Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

0:20.0

Today we're marking a significant Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

0:23.4

Today we're marking a significant milestone.

0:26.4

Once Upon a Crime's 8th birthday.

0:29.1

It's been an incredible journey since I launched the podcast

0:31.9

on June 9th, 2016, with our first series Lost and Found.

0:37.0

I remember releasing all three episodes of that series on the same day,

0:41.0

and we've been on a thrilling ride ever since, now boasting over 320 episodes.

0:47.2

We're kicking off season 9 with a series about family annihilators, or those who kill multiple

0:52.4

members of their family at once.

0:55.2

One of the most downloaded episodes in our history was a story about a family annihilator,

1:00.0

John List.

1:01.6

In 1971, 46-year-old John List. In 1971, 46 year old John List murdered his entire family, his wife of 20 years,

1:08.1

his three children, and his 84 year old mother. A worldwide manhunt ensued, but list evaded capture for

1:15.1

almost 18 years. If you want to listen to the whole story, you can hear it in

1:19.9

episode 39 of season one of Once Upon a Crime.

1:24.1

This episode was first released as an exclusive early release episode

1:27.6

at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville

1:30.3

on the weekend of June 1st,

...

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