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Recently found teen's father files for divorce, seeks restraining order

Natalie Neysa Alund and Ariana Maia Sawyer

The Tennessean

Anthony Thomas, the father of Elizabeth Thomas who was missing for nearly six weeks, has filed for divorce.

NASHVILLE — The father of a recently found 15-year-old girl wants a divorce from his wife of 30 years who has been indicted on charges she abused their children, according to court records.

Anthony Edward Thomas, 49, filed for divorce Monday from 48-year-old Kimberly Ann Thomas citing irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct, Maury County (Tenn.) Chancery Court records show.

According to the filing, the couple have 10 children with four under age 18, including Elizabeth Thomas.

Elizabeth went missing in early March after law enforcement officials said Tad Cummins kidnapped her, taking her from a restaurant near her home in Columbia, Tenn., and eluding law enforcement for 38 days before they were captured last week in Cecilville, Calif.

Federal court documents show the 50-year-old Cummins admitted to switching vehicle license plates twice, disabled his vehicle's GPS system, used aliases, altered his appearance, paid only in cash and used back roads during his nearly six weeks on the run.

Anthony Thomas’ divorce lawyer, Cory Ricci, said this week a Maury County judge granted a restraining order that prevents Kimberly Thomas from speaking publicly about the case or her daughter’s disappearance, even through a third party.

“We are afraid of Ms. Thomas giving interviews or speaking,” said Ricci. “If it airs, Elizabeth will be terrified. She’s very, very scared of her mother.”

He said the order is in effect until the divorce proceedings begin.

Kimberly Thomas was indicted on four counts of misdemeanor child abuse and neglect and one felony count of abuse for a child under the age of 8 in January 2016, court records show. She is charged with abusing five of her 10 children, including Elizabeth.

Her criminal trial is set for review May 12, according to officials with Maury County Circuit Court. A trial date has not been set.

Kendall Stivers, a Maury County public defender who is defending Kimberly Thomas in the case, said her client had no comment. Sandy McLain, Maury County Circuit Court clerk, said Kimberly Thomas has entered a not guilty plea in her criminal case.

It was not immediately known whether she has a lawyer in the civil divorce case.

Ricci said that to the best of his knowledge, Kimberly Thomas has denied the abuse charges.

He said the pair have been separated since November 2015 when his client learned of the alleged abuse. That same year, a juvenile court in Maury County ordered Kimberly Thomas to have no contact with the children, filings show. That order remained in effect Tuesday.

The divorce filing is the latest ordeal in Elizabeth’s case which has garnered national attention.

She didn't look like herself

Earlier Tuesday, the girl's family expressed thanks for the public's support and said it's time to focus on the teen's recovery.

"The outpouring of love and support from the public for Elizabeth Thomas has been overwhelming," attorney S. Jason Whatley wrote in a statement released on behalf of the girl and her family. "It is time to focus on Elizabeth and her recovery, which could easily take an extended period of time," Whatley wrote.

In an interview on Primetime Justice with Ashleigh Banfield on HLN, Anthony Thomas said his daughter didn’t look like herself when he first saw her.

Booking photo for Tad Cummins after his arrest in California on Thursday, April 20, 2017.

“She looked like she was very worn out, very thin. And very jittery," her father said.

Elizabeth's sister-in-law, Danielle Thomas, said Elizabeth is suffering from crippling panic attacks after the ordeal.

“There are times where she's curled up in the middle of the floor crying and shaking and having panic attacks,” the girl’s sister-in-law said.

Cummins, of Columbia, Tenn., faces state and federal charges in the girl's disappearance.

Cummins has been in federal custody at the Sacramento County (Calif.) jail since Friday, said Lauren Horwood, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of California. Prior to that he'd been in the custody of the Siskiyou County, Calif., sheriff, near a remote area of northern California where they were discovered in a cabin.

A federal judge Monday ordered Cummins remain jailed and be transferred back to Tennessee as soon as possible.

For his own safety reasons, federal authorities would not disclose what day Cummins will depart California or when he will arrive in Tennessee.

Follow Natalie Neysa Alund and Ariana Maia Sawyer on Twitter: @nataliealund and @a_maia_sawyer