Deputies arrest man after finding wife dead in Palm Coast home

Woman had no known medical issues, deputies say

PALM COAST, Fla. – Deputies arrived at a Palm Coast home Thursday morning to find the body of a 44-year-old woman, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies are investigating the death of Faith Cummings, who authorities said had no known medical issues.

"Obviously, when you have somebody that's younger and doesn't have at least a known medical condition that we're aware of, that always raises a red flag," Sheriff Rick Staly said.

Deputies said the woman's husband, 41-year-old Michael Cummings, called 911 and told dispatchers he was performing CPR on his wife. When paramedics arrived, deputies said Faith Cummings had been dead for hours. Investigators began questioning the husband.

"He has given us his version of what occurred and what went on and how he found the woman deceased, and what he did," Staly said.

Deputies said Michael Cummings reported that Faith Cummings had possibly fallen after taking a shower.

Deputies waited for a search warrant to enter the home while investigators collected evidence outside. Deputies said that, due to the circumstances surrounding the death, sheriff's detectives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Crime Scene Unit and the medical examiner arrived to conduct a thorough investigation.

"I will tell you that I have a lot of resources here. We're erring on the side of caution. If in fact we do have a homicide, we want to make sure we collect all the evidence," Staly said.

"All I know about them is that they are young and moved here about six months ago," said Joe Sousa, who lives next door to the couple. "We all in the neighborhood are very shocked about what happened. The thing is, we still really don't know what happened."

So far, deputies said, there's no indication of any firearms or other weapons involved. They said it will take time to determine how Cummings died and whether there is someone to blame.

"We are concerned that maybe what is reported is not exactly what occurred, so that's why we're conducting this investigation," Staly said.

Deputies said Michael Cummings was asked multiple times during the course of the investigation to leave the home in order for the detectives to thoroughly investigate the scene.

He refused to leave and was arrested for obstruction of justice, deputies said.

"At this point, it is a death investigation," Staly said. "We're taking all of the necessary steps so that if this does turn into a criminal investigation, we will have a thorough understanding of the entire area in order to prosecute any potential suspects. The best-case scenario is that this turns out to be a medical issue and there is no foul play. Only the ongoing investigation can determine that."

Michael Cummings

Michael Cummings was booked Thursday evening into the Flagler County Detention Facility on the misdemeanor charge, deputies said. He was being held on $500 bail.


About the Authors:

Troy Blevins is a Digital Content Editor who has been with Graham Media Group since 2012.

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