Va. woman pleads guilty to killing her mother in nursing home

NORFOLK, Va. (TCN) -- A woman entered a plea deal this week for strangling her mother to death allegedly with her son at a nursing home over the summer.

Norfolk Circuit Court records show Heather Cummings pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the death of her mother Cleo Loizides on Thursday, March 27. Heather Cummings' son and suspected co-conspirator, Clifton Cummings, is scheduled to stand trial in August for second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

On June 30, 2024, Norfolk Police Department officers were called to a senior living center for an unresponsive patient. Paramedics arrived and pronounced Loizides, 81, deceased. Detectives reportedly noticed apparent strangulation marks on Loizides' neck and began investigating her death as a homicide. The mother and son were arrested a little over a week later, on July 9.

Investigators alleged they drove from Indiana, where they were living, to Virginia to kill Loizides. Heather Cummings reportedly admitted to police that she held her mother down while Clifton Cummings strangled her with bag straps.

Heather Cummings reportedly told her mother, "Just let go. It’s for the best."

According to WTKR-TV, Heather Cummings "was convinced that her father was murdered by her mother, Ms. Loizides, in late July 2021, and noted that the three-year anniversary of his death was approaching."

Heather Cummings also allegedly said to her mother while pinning her, "This is for the best because you know what you did to my dad."

She will be sentenced in June and could face up to 40 years in prison.

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