#TAD CUMMINS SONG TRIAL#

The former Culleoka Unit School student, 18, was kidnapped by former health teacher Tad Cummins on March 13, 2017.

The pair allegedly exchanged emails described by Maury County District Attorney Brent Cooper as “romantic” prior to their disappearance.Watch Video: Tad Cummins sentenced to 20 years in prison for taking a teenage student from home for sexĪ former Maury County student kidnapped by her former teacher has settled her claims against the school district for $650,000, according to a settlement agreement obtained by The Daily Herald after a public records request. It is unclear at this time whether Thomas went with Cummins willingly. Last week, Tennessee officials released photos of Cummins and Thomas at a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma, captured two days after they were reported missing. In addition to homework help, Anthony says Cummins “ her money, bought a microwave so she would heat food up in his room try and get her out of trouble.” The Search Continues “He built up a system where she was dependent on him,” Thomas’ dad, Anthony, says of Cummins’ alleged efforts to woo the high school freshman. In a previous interview with PEOPLE, Thomas’ father Anthony said he believes being approachable was part of Cummins’ plan. The father-of-two allegedly presented himself as a confidant for students, Parrish says. Pick up PEOPLE’s special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenét Ramsey and more.Ĭummins is believed to have used his time in school to “groom” Thomas, her family previously told PEOPLE. Jill Cummins at a press conference in March “He was the one that everybody trusted,” Parrish says of her shock when hearing last month’s news. She says she never got to know Jill, who last week filed for divorce after more than three decades of marriage. She sometimes attended church on Sundays with Cummins and his wife, Jill, and would get lunch with them. Like Thomas, Parrish spent time with Cummins in and out of school. The song, which Parrish believes was written by Cummins for her, describes a deep love, with the line: “I could swim for a thousand miles in the oceans inside your eyes and never reach the side.” I kind of thought about it but I didn’t think about anything bad, I didn’t process them because it was Tad, the person I trusted.” “I definitely didn’t focus on the lyrics at the time. “I started recording because it surprised me how well he ,” she says.

#TAD CUMMINS SONG TRIAL#

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. When she heard about Thomas’ disappearance, Parrish says she remembered something from her friendship with Cummins that, up until three weeks ago, seemed normal: A love song Cummins allegedly performed for her in the school’s music room, which she recorded on her phone. “Whenever we were alone he would talk to me about how I was doing or try to give me advice on what I was going through.” “ talk too much about himself at all,” Parrish says.

He was fired after he and Thomas went missing. 23, after which he was suspended from his job. The latter claim stems from an incident in which Cummins allegedly kissed Thomas on Jan. He made me feel safe and he tried to do that with all of his students, so I never saw it as too weird.”Ī warrant has been issued for Cummins’ arrest on charges of aggravated kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor, according to the TBI.

“I never saw anything wrong with our friendship. Parrish says she didn’t think anything was amiss about their friendship until she heard about Thomas’ alleged abduction last month. “We’d sit and talk about everything and anything,” she continues. was just happy that I had somebody I could trust and I could talk to about the divorce.” “I don’t show emotions with family- I shut them out emotionally. “, I had somebody I could trust, and I couldn’t talk to my parents,” Parrish says. Her parents divorced and both moved out of town, leaving her to live with her grandparents. In 2011- Cummins’ first year teaching at the Tennessee school- Parrish was having difficulties at home, she says. Thomas and Cummins, 50, have not been seen since March 13. Parrish was a student of Cummins’ at Culleoka Unit School in 20, when she was 15 - the same age as Elizabeth Thomas, the teen Cummins is accused of abducting. “I definitely think, on his end, it was a bit more than a friendship - its hard not to think that now,” Destany Parrish, 19, tells PEOPLE of her relationship with Cummins several years ago.

A Tennessee woman tells PEOPLE that Tad Cummins, the teacher accused of kidnapping a student and sparking an ongoing AMBER Alert, may have exhibited similar “grooming” behaviors with her several years ago.

Tad cummins song