Mother Sentenced to Four Years in Death of Daughter's Rapist

WMC TV - Memphis ^ | December 19, 2005 | Staff

[mcg2000]

MARYVILLE, Tenn. A mother charged in the shooting death of a man she said raped her young daughter was sentenced to four years in prison today.

Authorities say Kimberly Cunningham must serve nearly a third of the sentence before being eligible for parole, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports.

Her attorney Bruce Poston told Blount County Circuit Court Judge D. Kelly Thomas that he would appeal the sentence.

In October Cunningham was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Coy Hundley, her daughter's uncle.

Cunningham was tried on a charge of first-degree murder in April in the case, but the jury acquitted her of that charge and deadlocked on all lesser charges.

Cunningham has served about two months in jail since the October 7th 2003 killing and Poston said that would be deducted from her sentence.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press.

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Salamander]

I don't know the answer to either question.

If I think my life is hell now, I haven't seen anything yet, should I open my yap and tell the authorities.

Yes, my parents would definitely side against me.

I really don't think I could take the *public* abandonment on top of everything else.

I get along as best I can and warn any people with little girls who might get near him without actually saying anything that could identify me as the source.

I think they "get it".

I also have the 'brainwashing' residue to deal with.
To this day, if I speak of it to anyone, I worry for weeks that something terrible will happen to my pets or family.

When threats like that are drilled into a young mind long enough, they're very hard to forget.

[Redbob]

"10 year old kids don't usually have a political/social agenda."

I do hope you're not implying that 10-year-olds are absolutely truthful in all things!?

While they may not have an "agenda," as such, they are certainly known to lie, cheat, steal on their own, or worse when under the influence of an evil adult.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

I'm so sorry you went through that, and I'm really sorry your parents weren't there for you when you were a child, and even now.

[cva66snipe]

I do hope you're not implying that 10-year-olds are absolutely truthful in all things!? While they may not have an "agenda," as such, they are certainly known to lie, cheat, steal on their own, or worse when under the influence of an evil adult.

And a parent that knows their child can tell which is which.

[Salamander]

Being here helps.

I grew up thinking that because nothing was ever done to him and *I* got all the anger and punishment, that somehow, it was my fault and that I was guilty.

But then good peeople; good parents post on these threads reacting exactly the same way a *good* parent should.

"Small things" like that go a long way to help me understand that it wasn't "my fault".

That the guilt and blame are not mine to carry.

We often go through the day thinking that we've made no difference or accomplished nothing.

But I say to you that every single person that's posted on this thread has touched and helped to heal someone that they don't even know, without even realizing that they've done so.

To them, I say thank you.
They can't imagine how much it means.

[Salamander]

I understand the "trust issues" all too well.

The aftereffects of such things cling to you like an evil, suffocating shadow for the rest of your life, no matter how "well adjusted" you may eventually manage to become.


Child molesters kill all of their victims, even if they do leave them still breathing.

It's cold comfort but please tell your husband that he is not alone.
Thousands of us stand invisibly by his side.


"The homo is dead of AIDS."

Wow.
I had a really un-Christian reaction to that....:)

[Wolfie]

Hey "she said" he did it. What more do you need?

[Wolfie]

She said Hundley laughed when she asked him about the allegations and asked what she was going to do about it.

Hearsay on top of hearsay.

[Palmetto]

That's about 16 months. I must say, if someone raped my daughter, 16 months in the clink would seem like nothing next to the grim satisfaction I'd get from shooting him down like a dog.

Yup. Small price to pay, IMHO.

[Salamander]

Interestingly enough, pedophiles rely on exactly that sort of logic to evade prosecution.

Everyone *knows* what liars little kids are, right?

Ironically, my uncle told me right from the start that no one would believe me if I told.

He was right.

The word of a child against that of an adult Viet vet/high income/prominent career position/church elder/hysterically funny/everybody's favorite in-law?

No contest, there.

He knew the rules of the game *and* the odds.
He played it well and won.

Sometimes wretched ex-spouses may use their children as pawns to gain more money or even revenge...but they're almost always tripped up in their schemes.


What did I "gain" by telling?

Nothing.

In fact, I lost everything any child could expect to have.

This Christmas [and every holiday] I will sit alone as usual with my hubby and dogs while my family gathers for fun, food and festivity at the uncle's house.

What did I gain, Redbob?

[JeffAtlanta]

If I saw my daughter being raped, I would pull a gun on that rapist and blow his brains onto the wall.

That is not the case here. Here in Atlanta, a man was released from prison after 24 years of serving a rape conviction after DNA evidence proved that he was not guilty.

In the original trial, the victim ID'd the defendant and said "that is him - I will never forget the color of his skin".

Ends up that she was mistaken. Her recollection was influenced by photographs shown to her by the police of potential suspects.

The new DNA evidence did pinpoint the man who really did rape her - he is already in jail for other crimes. When the rape victim was recently shown photos of what the actual rapist and the man she sent to jail looked like 24 years ago, she said "well they do look kind of alike, don't you think?"

This man served 24 years for a crime he didn't commit - if the victim's mother had killed him, no one would have ever known the truth.

[JeffAtlanta]

And a parent that knows their child can tell which is which.

LOL - parents are absolutely the last to know when their child is lying.

Daddy's are so easily manipulated by daughters that it isn't even funny.

[goldstategop]

Hopefully, they can knock a year or two off the sentence. She would serve still more time than many hardened murderers. I could never approve of murder but I can understand her wanting to give it to the scumbag who raped her child.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[spectre]

If she had a different lawyer, perhaps she might have been found temporarily insane wrt the shooting? Or at least put under house arrest since she's no threat to society.

Meanwhile, Andrea Yates, who was convicted of drowning her five children in 2002, is granted a new trail...stay tuned..

sw

[JeffAtlanta]

She said Hundley laughed when she asked him about the allegations and asked what she was going to do about it.

This is what a rape victim in Atlanta said at trial..

During a three-day trial, the victim identified Clark, saying "I will never forget the face, the skin color and his voice." Clark, who maintained that a friend of his was the likely perpetrator, was sentenced to two life terms plus 20 years in prison for rape, kidnapping and armed robbery.

The guy served 24 years in prison, but it ends up that he didn't do it after all. The woman says that she is "sorry that she made a mistake".

[Salamander]

But tell a single truth that no one wants to hear and you'll be branded a liar for life.

Funny how things work, isn't it?

[Salamander]

You just won the "Most Ironic Post of the Day" award with that one...:)

[spectre]

LOL..:)

sw