EXCLUSIVE: Misty Croslin Balked at Babysitting Haleigh!
By Art Harris, The Bald Truth, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved
The Bald Truth has learned exclusive new details about Misty Croslin’s behaviour the night she reported her boyfriend’s five year old daughter missing from their trailer in Satsuma, Florida almost a year ago—that she had balked at babysitting Haleigh Cummings, and her little brother, JR, complaining she was just too exhausted after a three day binge of drugs and sex with party pals.
“She told me, ‘I didn’t want to even watch the kids that night because I was too tired from partying that weekend,’” her sister in law, Lindsay, told me in an exclusive interview Tuesday night that I broke on CNN HLN’s Nancy Grace Show.
Then, Misty related, Ronald Cummings mother, offered to pay her. “She told me, ‘Teresa (Neves) said, ‘I’ll pay you to watch ‘em.’ But I told her, ‘No, you don’t have to pay me, I’ll watch ‘em.’ Remember that weekend, she and Ronald were fighting after she came back, so she told his mother, ‘No, I’ll go home and watch ‘em if it’s okay with Ronald.’”
I reached Lindsay as she was driving her in-laws home after a visit with Misty and her brother, Tommy, both behind bars in the St. John’s County Jail in St. Augustine. Her ex-husband, Ronald Cummings, a codefendant in the drug trafficking case, is now jailed in Putnam County. All are charged with felony drug trafficking of prescription painkillers and could spend decades behind bars if convicted.
More than five hours of Misty’s intimate family conversations, and phone calls between other defendants, are expected to be released any day now, but the new details we’re reporting from today’s visit may not make this edit.
The night Misty at first refused to babysit Haleigh was Sunday night, Feb. 8, about 30 hours before she reported Haleigh missing. That night, sources close to the case tell me she told police she and Ronald stayed up all night fighting, and overslept. Frantic he might be late dropping Haleigh again after so many tardys, and risk losing custody, Ron Cummings loaded her and Misty into his purple Altima and drove like a bat out of hell, neighbors told me in exclusive interviews, nearly running down other children at the bus stop.
“He was driving like a crazy man,” said Jerry Santos, a neighbor.
After changing Haleigh’s blouse at his grandmother’s, she’d apparently spilled something, they raced to school, where Misty walked Haleigh to class, late, then it was back to the house to crash, sources tell me.
Later in the carpool line, neighbor Jerry Santos and his girlfriend, told police they were within earshot of Misty when she was behind the wheel of the family van, waiting to pick up Haleigh when she got off the school bus. That’s when Santos tells me he and his girlfriend overheard her talking to friends, apparently griping about the poor quality of the previous night’s party drugs, how they were “bad shit,” and that she had no intention of ever using the same source again.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Santos told me.
But what was especially hard to stomach was what Misty did next; she screamed at one of the small boys in the van to be quiet, believed to be JR, then backhanded him in the face. In a separate incident, another mother I interviewed said she was at a Palatka medical clinic and witnessed Misty grabbing a kicking JR and dragging him out the door and to the car, cursing him to behave. Putnam County Sheriff’s investigators and child services never filed a report that she was a danger to the children after speaking with the woman.
Meanwhile, I reported the exclusive new details on CNN HNL’s Nancy Grace Show Tuesday night, including that Misty told her parents she was frightened behind bars, afraid what might happen if she went to prison on the trafficking charges—and that detectives on the Haleigh task force had been grilling her, playing “mind games,” as she put it, trying to leverage the drug charges to pry details about the Haleigh case, even pressuring her to implicate certain unnamed people in the child’s disappearance. Misty has been fingered as the key to solving the cold case, police say.
She maintains she was sleeping that night and doesn’t know what happened to Haleigh, though has offered a bizarre dream she recalls with four men in it that night some experts believe could be real. She’s also flunked a polygraph by Texas Equusearch.
“She says, ‘(police) are in there telling her to say, ‘XYZ person said this, and that person said that,’ but they won’t break her because she doesn’t know nothing,” her father, Hank Croslin told me Tuesday night. “I have my own hunches, but I’d swear on my grandchildren Misty had nothing to do with,’” said Hank Sr.
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:23 am
Art I really don’t care what Santos said because there is a transcript of Schauland saying Ron picked up Haleigh from the bus that day. He was on HLN with Mike G in March when it was said. Plus the van was at Timmy’s in another town so Misty couldn’t have been driving it.
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:03 am
As I learn more about Ronald as his knowing whom was around his child I realize there were no secrets. He knew what she was being exposed to in fact he was the one who made the choice to have her exposed to high risk situations and persons. Crystal just never tried abused or not and I do think she was I question the degree she claims. Abused or not what does that have to do with caring for a child? Her self is one thing but a child is totally separate. Children are not novelties they are given by God and he expects that the parent gives every thing including their own life if need be to protect the child. It is not a hard ship to suffer while doing what ever it takes to care for the child it’s just a small part of a bigger plan, no matter how hard it is it’s a privilege not a problem. I think Misty was zonked right out and would of slept through a train derailing immediately behind the house and I don’t think it is anything more than that. I really question anyone seeing someone hitting a child and doing nothing, who would do nothing say nothing? Sounds like BS to me.
God Bless Haleigh and all her families
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:06 am
Thanks Art.
I feel for Lindsy for all that she and her kids are having to go through. Keep in touch with her art, she may know more than we think.
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:14 am
Al-Q might attack, I’m doing taxes and laundry, my ‘Black Dog’ needs more meds and a blood test, my car is caked in ice, and I drank too much coffee today!!!
So, at least I know where a little bit of that tax money is going.
And, the way he drove like a bat…reminds me of getting driven to a job interview a few years back, so at least for that I’m smiling…and hope you are too!
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:14 am
Why would Misty have to babysit Haleigh on Sunday, Feb. 8?
Wasn’t Ron home to watch his own child?
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:20 am
…And you know, come to think of it, I don’t believe I want to build that ‘pipeline dream’ for ‘inmates’ to listen to music, anymore!
Since this is ‘tax season’ wonder if the Al-Q threat is a cyber one?
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:22 am
I forgot to wish you a happy Groundhog Day!
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:24 am
Hope you had time to play in Palin’s oval office. Did you find the ‘Pit bull with lipstick?’
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:27 am
Was fun blowing up small animals, and water boarding ‘princess’ (whats her face?), and all that other stuff.
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:27 am
At least I know I’m not the only one with way too much time for fun.
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:28 am
Actually, somebody might have even been ‘on the clock,’ or got paid for that.
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:29 am
I know you’ve had a long day, sleep tight.
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:31 am
I have a problem with people giving Ron air time to confess that he would kill people..the grandparents swearing an oath on his other grandchild..isn’t one grandchild enough to lose?
Poor little child..how she made it to five is still a mystery to me…
Ron ,may not have direct knowledge of what happened to Haleigh,but his wild life and vast associates contributed to her not being here.
Keep the whole crew in jail till someone fesses up!
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:23 am
Just wondering if Jr.’s blood/urine was ever taken after Haleigh went missing? I know the overdose rumor didn’t surface until months after she vanished. But if they did take samples maybe they could prove she doped the kids up so she could sleep and gave Haleigh too much.
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:24 am
Hi Art, thank you for your article and adding to the timeline.
Sounds like Misty and Ron (at least Misty) did drugs Sunday night 2/8 staying up all night fighting with each other. Next am they crashed at home while Haleigh was at school. Sounds like Ron managed to go to work that afternoon, Misty was still feeling rocky after the bad drugs the night before and her long weekend party bender. I wouldn’t think that little bit of sleep that day could have been enough for her to recover yet.
Will you add to or confirm that Ron claimed that he and Misty were fighting Monday on the phone while he was at work because Misty wanted to babysit some other kids? Based on what I’ve read now that really doesn’t make sense.
Also, do you know when Misty acquired the bad drugs? Sunday night before meeting back up w/Ron at the MH? Also is there any speculation as to who the source of the bad drugs was? TY
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:29 am
Hey, I’m hopeful that that Al-Q thing might ‘actually’ be a ‘sting’…using ‘a net.’
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:31 am
Thanks again for ‘the license’ and for every time you (or the moderators) have saved me from sinking my ship…whilst I’m sailing.
Stick out your neck, play with fire, smell ice!
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:27 am
Art, thank you for continuing to cover Haleigh’s case. I am somewhat surprised that Teresa Neves had to have realized that Misty was in no shape to watch the kids that night, as she stated it herself, and wonder why Teresa didn’t offer to take them for the night for their own safety. I suppose that is partly what is eating at her, what would have happened if they had been at her house, under her care?
The answer? NOTHING.
And one more thing, I wish you would be on JVM’s show instead of NG.
February 3rd, 2010 at 9:53 am
so sad that little girl didn’t stand a chance with this bunch of morons.
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:49 am
I believe Ronald is just as guilty as Misty. He left his children in the care of a drug addict, who had just returned back to the house after a drug binge, they fought, that isn’t a secret, his own mother stated that “Misty was exhausted”, and when she fell asleep she probably did not hear anything. I wonder how Teresa feels now that she didn’t watch her own grandchildren, instead she offers to “PAY”, Misty, if she would babysit. This entire group of people and families are the epitome of DYSFUNCTIONAL!!!
Ronald’s drug use is no longer a question, he is a addict also, as the saying goes “birds of a feather, flock together.”
February 3rd, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Art Thank You again for your great reporting!
Many of us are sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear these audios in hopes to find out where Haleigh may be.
I do tend to believe that Misty would not want to babysit, what I don’t understand is “Why did they allow Misty to be around the children”?
I could never figure out why Ron, TN or GGMS let her babysit in the first place. Especially if her and Ron were fighting and she was on a 4 day drug binge…. I really would like for someone to come straight out and ask these 3 that question. I want to know how they can justify leaving Misty there with the children or even allowing her around the children.
Did anyone really care about these children? So, sad…and heart breaking!
February 3rd, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Call me confused. TN contacts Misty about babysitting on Sunday night. Was Ron suppose to work that night? And Misty wasn’t “home”? Was she just going back to babysit?
Why would any grandmother want someone who’d been on a binge babysitting her grandchildren?
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Maybe that is why Teresa is always crying. She feal’s guilty about munipulating Misty to warch the children. She new she was in no shape to watch the chilfren. I think she is just a guilty as Ron & Misty for Child abuse.
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Why is it that the discussion came up Sunday night about watching Haleigh? Why would TN want someone that had just been up for four nights in a drug induced state and apparently drained watching her precious grandchildren? Making an offer to even pay her to do so.This is gets more bizarre all the time.
Thanks Art! Awesome job!!
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Hi Art,
How did Lindsay get to visit with Misty if her parents each had 30 mins with her, was it on a different a visit? Also where was Junior that morning, was he not with them in the car? Is Misty throwing the NOT wanting to babysit out, to change the direction/suspect of the case or SETTING UP HER DEFENSE?
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:03 pm
well if someone called 911 when Misty backhanded Jr and when she was speaking about drugs…..Maybe Haleigh would be around. Lots of hindsight I guess.
February 3rd, 2010 at 5:25 pm
She will probably think they are mind games up until they sentence her to 180 years in prison…I say put her and Ronald in the same cell with “Bubba”.
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Would he swear the same regarding Tommy?
February 4th, 2010 at 12:22 am
Art, was Haleigh taking any medication that require her to use a syringe? That would mean she was familiar with needles and may have picked one up in the chaos of feeding the addiction and acted out what she was seeing. I think every one who was there had something to do with her disppearance because if they individually were not involved then they would remember some one they partied with having squeaky shoes and come forward by now
February 4th, 2010 at 1:48 am
How do these folks get the idea Art is posting Misty’s bail? How come Misty has no clue her bail is SO HIGH and she is going to prison?
Is PCSO backing off the Misty knows theory?
February 4th, 2010 at 7:31 am
This am news is that Padilla might post her bail. Why?? Let her sit in jail til she rots. Get the drug sales case done-after awhile in prison for that crime, perhaps she’s spill her guts.
Please, the world is a better place with this whole bunch behind bars.
Does she NOT know how high her bail is?
Is she going through withdrawal?
I hope they DO put her in general population. She’s a criminal, not a celebrity. NO SPECIAL TREATMENT.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:51 am
180 YRS.for a pills being sold.To known drug addict,an under cover set up.What kind of bonds are these?? Why havent we heard where the drugs came from,what DR wrote the scripts?. Misty doesnt have a record,does she? It just doesnt sound right to me.—-I truly want Haliegh found,bless her little heart/My goodness,i hate to say it ,but the truth is ,we all know Crystals drug history,just this past yr.—An a judge has placed little Ron(butter bean) right back with the mom,who lost them to start with. Its been a yr,an Halieghs case hasnt been solved,Why would anyone think.Setting up drug bust,an putting them all in jail will break the case. Maybe it will,but i doupt it.I keep hearing poor Lindsy,why she has kept her son,in that drug infested,fighting house hold.She had other choices,WHY WASNT THE CHILD REMOVED,WHEN GOOD OLD DAD,AN TOMMY WERE FIGHTING,an the little boy was missing school scared to death,on the porch.Or the mom ,told ok get this child out of here,or we will come take him.The drug addicts,an crime,an that baby boy,having to live in the Croslin house hold,an be subjected to all that mess.Just because Mom,wouldnt leave Tommy.Wheres the DCS,In cases like this? Why the child ,he could have been hurt when the fight was taking place,between dad,an son. Or taken some of those pills when Tommy went to sleep,at the bus stop,when he took the child to catch,the bus,didnt LE catch him sleep,with the pills in the truck? COME ON NOW,SOMETHINGS WRONG IN THAT TOWN !!! why hasnt another search on the ground went on,while snakes are down,an brush has died down? Why Haliegh could be right undre everyones nose—Many times this is how these people have been raised,an its the only life they know.I pray anwsers come through this arrest,about Haliegh,but it would truly be a shame if one just told a lie,blamed the other,just to get out. The system is messed up,some LE are in on,or get payoffs for the drugs traveling through a town.Im not saying that the case here,but i was raised in a small town where,crack,pills meth,an bootleg whiskey was sold on the street behind the police station,an you rarly saw police ride down that street.The small towns are something.I just pray for Haliegh,as well as all the little ones,in these drug house holds.Can they not Hypnotize Ronjr at his age,to see what he remembers,or is he to young? Teressa Neves,im praying for you,an all these families……..I read a older case where step dad abused,an murdered,his step daughter,mom was involved to… The DCS knew the little girl was being abused, coller bone was broke once,later she had 2 broken legs- She was placed with a grandmother–when she healed, they placed the little girl,back with dear old mom,an stepdad.The child was finaly kicked in the stomache an died. He got 30 yrs,an mom got time also..The real dad came home from service to bury his child.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Ron is a narcissist, who really didn’t put his kids first, he just wanted to make sure that Crystal didn’t get them and he didn’t have to pay child support, guys like him are a dime a dozen! And why not let Misty baby-sit? He has been influencing and controlling this girl from the moment they met, he prob. started turning her on to bigger and better drugs too! Why do people forget that this Misty was a 16 year old girl?? Practically a child herself? My goodness how responsible could she have been, Ron knew her drug habits, he indulged them and indulged in them with her!!
Why do people believe him? He is a narcissist, a con artist, a burglar and a active drug addict!! His mother works for the Sheriff’s department and so much crap has slid off him due to that fact, Teflon Ron, seems to be the story here, he was the ADULT here not Misty!! The pedophile who took that little girl was probably one of Teflon Ron’s twisted drug acquaintances! The person who did this left the little boy?? So obviously they had a preference for little girls! This was probably not the first time this person had molested a little girl but probably the first time they kidnapped and murdered one, or sold one into child prostitution!!
Please, I hope law enforcement wakes up and starts checking out Teflon Ron’s buddies!! Misty was a child she has just turned 18 and look at just how much Teflon Ron has influenced, controlled and screwed up her life, he even got most of the drugs for her to sell for these last busts and drove her there, now using her as a drug mule too!! What does Misty do?? She gets a tattoo of a Teflon Ron’s name on her back, now what does that say about this girl, and just how much Teflon Ron controlled her and got into her head???
They should really be putting the screws to Teflon Ron about his buddies and their preferences for underage girls, because that is where the answers are about Haliegh!!
February 4th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Since when did it become a FACT that Teresa knew Misty had been binging on a drug fest? Also, how does anyone here know whether or not Teresa had to work? GMAB, you people seem to have no problem blaming grandmothers, but pick and choose what PARENT or childcare provider is RESPONSIBLE…ultimately the two parents who gave birth to the children are responsible and I’m sure both are living in their own hell right now. Does anyone really believe Ron, Teresa, GGS, Crystal, Marie, or other blood related family members harmed HaLeigh?
February 4th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
It is dumb. They arrest her to scare her and she is clueless as to the degree of s— she is in? Let her watch NG one night….just one. Maybe it is just me but Misty to me is pointing at Hank Jr. Hank Jr. does seem he does not want Misty to talk. But I guess it could be about drugs and not Haleigh. I really feel Hank Jr knows more.
February 6th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Art, With GG, mom, and pop telling Cummings to watch what he says regarding the “so-called snitch” being in jail, it is obvious that all of them know what happened to Haleigh! If Cummings is innocent in the disappearance of Haleigh, why should they be so worried about what he says? Do the Cummings Clan think we are brainless when we hear stuff like that? Cummings, is he in Putnam jail where his LE acquaintances are? We are waiting for Misty to tell on herself and Cummings and put an end to everyone’s concern for that dear child, Haleigh. Thank God for Crystal having Jr. TN and GGS should be ashamed for allowing that baby to be with those druggies, Cummings and Misty! This would not have happened to Haleigh if Ronald Cummings’ sorry a– had not lied, schemed to keep from paying child support. Crystal went through hell with that sorry, no-good a–h—. jmo and knowledge
March 31st, 2010 at 12:33 am
I just read another take one who is responsible and while at first I thought ‘no way’ after reaing why they thought this it makes more sense than not. That person is none other than grandmother, Therea Neves. Apparently she showed up basically the exact same time as the police got there though she lived some miles away, she was wearing a Sheriffs jacket and like some others here have said, why would she let someone she knew was basically still stoned babysit the kids,she even offered to pay Misty if she would babysit which indicates that she was busy doing something that she was unable to take over for Misty, and yet she tells everyone how great Misty was with the kids. There does seem to be some discrepencies in her.
May 22nd, 2010 at 10:25 pm
If Misty hit Jr in public….I can only imagine what she did in private.
If you listen to Misty’s tape at about 10 minutes she need admits she is guilty.