An ex-middle school teacher has been accused of kidnapping a 15-year-old girl. The man’s wife has now filed for divorce. The woman — who has made a public plea to her husband to return the Tennessee teenager to her home — filed her divorce papers last Friday in Maury County Chancery Court.
The wife of the man cited “inappropriate marital conduct” and “irreconcilable differences” as the basis for the divorce. She and the accused teacher have been married for 31 years.
Divorce documents indicate that she has asked for attorneys’ fees and alimony payments. She also claimed that she hasn’t been in contact with the man since March 13, when the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued an Amber alert regarding the missing teenage girl.
The disappearance of the man and the teenager came over a month after the girl’s classmate witnessed the girl and the teacher kiss. On the day the two went missing, the school suspended and terminated the teacher. After disappearing, the teacher and teenager were seen at a Walmart in Oklahoma.
There is currently a warrant out for the teacher’s arrest. Reports indicate that they may have been in Georgia at one time. However, authorities are not sure where the teacher and the girl could be.
Tennessee residents do not need to be in contact with the other spouse to obtain a divorce. Although the process may take more time, spouses can finalize their divorce, and even receive an award of alimony payments when appropriate, without ever gaining the consent of the other spouse in the marriage.
Source: Tennessean, “Tad Cummins' wife files for divorce amidst Elizabeth Thomas Amber Alert,” Natalie Neysa Alund, April 04, 2017
