Court filings and an exclusive interview with Elizabeth Thomas’s family lawyer have revealed more about the life of the 15-year-old girl, who was rescued last week after 39 days on the run with her high school teacher Tad Cummins, who is now in custody facing kidnapping charges.
Elizabeth’s father Anthony Thomas filed for divorce from his estranged wife Kimberly Thomas on Monday. On the same day, a judge granted Mr. Thomas a restraining order against his wife, prohibiting her from having contact with him, Elizabeth, or the couple’s three other minor children.
As Crime Online previously reported, Kimberly Thomas has been accused of multiple acts of abuse against Elizabeth and her siblings, including beating a child unconscious with a wooden block, and bashing Elizabeth’s head against a washing machine.
The divorce papers filed by Elizabeth’s father Anthony allege that because of the abuse, “Elizabeth was and is terrified of” her mother. The filing also alleges that Mrs. Thomas has not respected a previous order to have no contact with the children, and claims that she would essentially stalk the children. She would allegedly drive to their school, home, and homes of friends, and “stare at them angrily” when they came outside.
“The children have reported that these actions made them very fearful,” the court filing states.
The divorce papers include multiple items arguing that Kimberly Thomas should be prohibited from speaking to the media about Elizabeth.
Elizabeth will most likely suffer psychological harm to her already compromised mental state if she sees [her mother] appear on television or on the Internet and make any remarks about Elizabeth’s recent traumatizing circumstances or about her family circumstances in general.
The attorney for Elizabeth’s father Anthony Thomas appeared on “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,” and reiterated that Kimberly Thomas is a negative presence in Elizabeth’s life.
“She’s a horrible person,” Whatley said. “We can’t stand her.”
Corey Ricci, the lawyer who filed the divorce complaint and the restraining order request for Anthony Thomas, also discussed the case on “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.”
Thomas “made up his mind about filing for divorce a long time ago” but didn’t have the money necessary for the fight. But with Tad Cummins’ kidnapping of his daughter, he decided he could not delay the divorce any longer.
“It became all the more urgent to do it when Elizabeth returned,” the attorney said.
“One of the biggest concerns he had when Elizabeth returned was that the mother, Ms. Thomas, would take to the media again and start talking,” Ricci continued. “If [Elizabeth] has any exposure to her mother, it’s going to cause serious problems.”
Photo: TBI
