On September 7, 1997, Susan Cummings, a 35-year-old millionaire heiress, known as 911 from her 300-acre property in Warrenton, Virginia.
“I must report a shot man, and he’s lifeless,” she instructed the dispatcher in a recording obtained by Sins of the South, airing Sundays at 7/6c on Oxygen.
“I had a gun, sure,” she continued. “He tried to kill me.”
The sufferer was recognized as Cummings’ boyfriend and worker Roberto Villegas, 38, an internatinally ranked polo player from Argentina.
“He’d been shot a number of instances,” stated Michael S. Lamper, a now-retired detective with Fauquier County Sheriff’s Workplace.
“There was a big quantity of blood on the bottom,” Lamper added. “He had a knife between his bicep and his forearm.”
Do not miss the most recent in true crime:
Police Say Skeletal Remains of Teen Farmer Dylan Rounds Have Been Found, Suspect Pleads Guilty
Kansas Dad Helps Catch His Daughter’s Murderer Using Billboards
Tennessee Husband Suffocates His Wife as Affair and Financial Crimes Are Nearly Exposed
Who’s Susan Cummings?
Cummings had reported to authorities that Villegas had been threatening her two weeks earlier than the deadly capturing. She was slated to see a Justice of the Peace on the matter on September 8.
Cuts have been noticed on Cummings’ arm. The injuries prompt “she was defending herself with the gun that was laying on the ground,” stated Fauquier County Sheriff’s Workplace Detective Jim Jones.
Investigators realized that Susan’s father Samuel Cummings is a number one arms supplier. She and her twin sister Diana grew up in Europe and moved to Virginia after school.
Crime scene questions emerge
Lamper noticed that the blood across the sufferer’s physique had already begun to separate. It indicated Villegas had been there “a half an hour not less than” earlier than sheriffs arrived.
Fauquier County Sheriffs’ Workplace Deputy Shawn Walters famous that officers arrived inside 10 minutes of getting the 911 name. Had Cummings waited earlier than calling 911? If she fired in self-defense, why would she wait?
Extra questions arose from the scene, which was so tidy that they had doubts about Cummings’ account. “It simply wasn’t including as much as us like there was an assault occurring when Mr. Villegas was shot,” stated Lamper.
Who was Roberto Villegas?
Information of his surprising capturing demise unfold rapidly. Justin Bonnel, Villegas’ son, described his father as “hardworking. He beloved horses. He went from filth poor and Argentina to a rock star within the polo world.”
Villegas emigrated to the U.S. in 1991. “Along with his appeal and his polo expertise, everyone rapidly fell in love with him,” his good friend Tareq Salahi instructed Sins of the South.
Like others, the good friend was mystified by the deadly flip of occasions. Nonetheless, Cummings, who’d dated Villegas for 2 years, instructed her lawyer the connection had change into rocky and she or he was prepared to finish it.
Blair Howard, Cumming’s protection legal professional, stated she instructed him that if issues didn’t go Villegas’ means, “he would change into abusive.”
“She stated that he stated, ‘You proceed to push me out of the image, I’m going to kill you,’” Howard added. “He was gonna cling her the wrong way up and let her blood drip on the mattress.”
On the morning of September 7, she claimed an argument erupted. “He produced a knife … and was reducing me,” Cummings reportedly stated, per Howard.
She was capable of step away and get a gun she had hidden in a kitchen cabinet. She fired 4 instances. Howard stated she acted in self-defense.
RELATED: Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins Is One of the South’s Most Prolific Serial Killers
Susan Cummings is arrested
Primarily based on her 911 admission, sheriffs arrested Cummings. The post-mortem revealed that Villegas was shot 4 instances. He suffered deadly wounds to his neck and chest. Moreover, food was discovered within the sufferer’s mouth, indicating that he was consuming breakfast when he was shot. “That is now not self protection,” stated Lamper.
Investigators realized that Cummings and Villegas met when she determined to pursue polo, in accordance with Washington Metropolis Paper workers author Eddie Dean.
Susan and her sister “didn’t actually make an effort to change into part of the group till Susan determined to pursue polo,” stated Dean. “Roberto supplied Susan with a means into this very insular Southern subculture.”
Within the spring of 1997 they launched Ashland Farms Polo Membership collectively. “Roberto not solely turns into her star participant nevertheless it makes Ashland Farms a cool workforce,” stated Dean.
“They have been the brand new energy couple,” stated Salahi.
They have been additionally very totally different individuals. He was a charmer, she was an introvert. “His pockets was skinny. She took care of him,” stated Peter Arundel, founding father of the Nice Meadow Polo Membership.
Detectives realized that the connection had proven indicators of cracking. “She had Roberto beneath her thumb,” stated Dean. “He was attempting to get away from that and she or he wasn’t going to let him.”
Susan Cummings’ Protection Technique
On September 10, Cummings was launched on bond. Her legal professional pushed the self-defense declare aggressively. Robert was painted as a bully, whereas Susan was portrayed because the sufferer.
Investigators centered on the knife discovered on the scene. An in depth inspection of crime scene pictures by forensic specialist Sgt. Robert Zinn raised questions in regards to the knife, particularly its positioning and lack of blood switch, which made it seem that it had been positioned there after Villegas hit the ground, he instructed Sins of the South. Detectives thought of that the cuts on Susan’s arms may have been self-inflicted.
At Villegas’ funeral, one among his shut associates confided that Cummings had beforehand pursued a relationship with him. “It was virtually a ‘Single White Feminine’ stalking type of obsession,” stated Dean.
Cummings ultimately set her sights on Villegas. Investigators realized that not lengthy earlier than the capturing the 2 had allegedly argued about his participation in a polo profit for Argentina.
To construct the protection case, Howard tracked down witnesses to testify about Villegas’ violent conduct. He discovered two males who stated Villegas pulled a knife on them. A girl who dated him stated he tried to run her off the street, in accordance with Howard.
Prosecutors had bodily proof of their favor. “If they can not assault bodily proof, they are going to assault the sufferer,” stated Lamper.
A steady employee stated he noticed Villegas slap Cummings, in accordance with Howard. “He stated Roberto instructed him ‘I deal with my ladies identical to my horses. In the event that they refuse to do what I would like, I will kill ’em,'” Howard alleged.
On the finish of the trial in Might 1998, Cummings was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. She was sentenced to 60 days in jail and fined $2,500, per The New York Times.
5 years later, Cummings was hit by a $15.35 million civil wrongful demise lawsuit. She settled for an undisclosed quantity, the Washington Post reported.
To study extra in regards to the case coated within the episode, “The Heiress and the Polo Star,” watch Sins of the South, airing Sundays at 7/6c on Oxygen.
