Tennessee’s Family Annihilator - Michael Cummins

Once Upon A Crime | True Crime

Esther Ludlow

True Crime, Crime, Truecrime, Criminology, History, Criminals

4.6 • 5K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2024

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ 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

Sponsors:

Lume: new customers get 15% using promo code: ONCE. www.lumedeodorant.com

Links:

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

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,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Esther Ludlow, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Esther Ludlow and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.