Wife of Tennessee Amber Alert suspect claims he asked for forgiveness

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A week after 50-year-old Tad Cummins was found in northern California with his former student, 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas, his wife said he called and asked for forgiveness.

Jill Cummins, who has filed for divorce, said her husband called her just days after his arrest.

“It was very hard to hear his voice after all this time not knowing if I was going to hear it again,” she said to Inside Edition. “But he told me he was sorry. He told me he loved me and to please forgive him.”

Jill reportedly told him she couldn’t say “I love you” back to him.

“I of course went into a rage of, ‘Do you know what you’ve done to me? Do you know what you’ve done to your girls and your grandchildren?’ He pretty much just over and over said, ‘I’m sorry,’” she said.

He continues to call her from jail, Jill Cummins said, but she won’t pick up the phone, according to Inside Edition.

and daughters, Erica and Ashlee, previously said in a statement they are “glad this chapter of the ordeal is over” and thanked all the law enforcement involved in the case.

Tad Cummins was arrested in a small cabin with Elizabeth Thomas last week after authorities received a tip the two were staying there.

The two, who disappeared from Maury County, Tennessee, had been at the center of an AMBER Alert and had not been seen in more than a month.

Authorities say Cummins “planned and executed an audacious scheme,” ultimately wanting to take Thomas to Mexico “and beyond for his own purposes.”

Cummins is being detained without bond as he had been deemed a flight risk and danger to the community.

He is expected to be transported to federal court in Tennessee and, if convicted, could face 10 years to life in prison.

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