ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The attorney for Hank Croslin Jr. said Thursday that his client told him Joe Overstreet, Croslin's cousin, killed Haleigh Cummings in a Satsuma mobile home in February 2009 because he couldn't find the machine gun he came looking for.
"He took the body down to the dock and then he came back without the body, so there you have it," Croslin's attorney, James Werter, said. "At the dock that night, Joe Overstreet put Haleigh in the (St. Johns) (R)iver."
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Werters' statements corroborate what Misty Cummings' attorney, Robert Fields, said Tuesday. He said Misty Cummings, Haleigh's former stepmother, told investigators that her cousin, Overstreet, put Haleigh in a black bag and took her away. He said Haleigh was a "substitute" for the gun.
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Werter said Croslin rode in a van to a dock with Overstreet as Haleigh's lifeless body lay in the back seat.
"Haleigh was quiet, limp and not moving, like she was sleeping," Werter said.
Werter said Overstreet threatened to kill Croslin, which is why he went along with the plan.
"(Croslin) stayed in the vehicle in the passenger seat. He didn't drive. He didn't help in any sort of fashion," Werter said. "Joe was ordering him around, 'Come on. Let's go. Come on. Do this.'"
Werter said Putnam County investigators threatened Croslin with accessory to murder charges, which is why Werter will no longer allow Croslin to talk to tell his account. Werter said he wants immunity for his client.
"My advice to him is that he does not talk because they keep threatening him with felony murder charges, which are unfounded and unwarranted," Werter said. "So how can I let him talk in that situation. How can I let him say he even held a door open for Joe as he carried out the body. That would make him, technically speaking, an accessory after the fact. I can't let him talk with even that stupid little threat."
Joe Overstreet and his attorney were unavailable for comment Thursday.
Haleigh's grandmother, Teresa Neves, said she does not believe any of the stories that have come out this week about Haleigh's disappearance.
Marc Mcallister is a law professor at Florida Coastal School of Law. McAllister isn't involved in the Haleigh case, but he has read up on it. McAllister says even if there was probable cause, at this point the biggest hurdle would be proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
"The things I look at in this case are the fact that we have no body and we have no physical evidence and we also have would-be witnesses who are not credible," Mcallister said. He also said, "The story has changed so many times, in the eyes of the law, Misty and Tommy have both lost credibility.