A woman sentenced to 40 years in prison for accompanying her son to a senior living facility in Virginia with the intent of murdering her mother.
Heather Cummings, 53, was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to the second-degree murder of her mother, Cleo Loizides, age 81. Heather Cummings admitted to her role in her mother’s death on June 30, 2024, and her son will now face trial for his alleged involvement.
According to prosecutors, Heather Cummings restrained her mother’s wrists while her son, Clifton Cummings, 24, allegedly strangled Loizides with a handbag strap.
Prosecutors claim Heather Cummings told her mother during the fatal act, “This is for the best.” “You know what you did to my father.”
According to court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate WTKR at the time of Loizides’ death, Heather Cummings, who was living in Indiana at the time, admitted to being partially responsible for her mother’s death after she and her son were charged with second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder on July 9, 2024.
On June 30, 2024, Loizides was discovered unresponsive in her Commonwealth Senior Living room. She was pronounced dead the next day. Following an autopsy, the medical examiner determined that her death was homicide.
According to court documents, Clifton Cummings admitted to police that he strangled his grandmother to death with a handbag strap purchased from a Dollar Tree store in Virginia.
Heather Cummings admitted to holding down her mother’s wrists during the alleged strangulation and telling her, “Just let go, it’s for the best.”
Heather Cummings, according to prosecutors, also told her, “You know what you did to my dad.” According to local ABC affiliate WAVY, Heather Cummings spoke to the court during her sentencing hearing and accused her late mother of being responsible for her father’s death.
She also told the court that, despite her mother’s physical abuse, she loved and missed her.
According to prosecutors, Heather Cummings expressed no remorse for her mother’s death and discussed her plans to live a peaceful life after the trial and write a book about her father’s photography.
Heather Cummings pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 40-year sentence. Clifton Cummings is scheduled for a bench trial on August 4.
