Three Flagler men accused of murder make appearance in court

Palm Coast Observer
News

Three Flagler County men facing murder charges sat side-by-side in a Bunnell courtroom on the morning of Tuesday, June 12, for pretrial hearings in unrelated cases.

Michael Cummings (right) at his pre-trial hearing on June 12. Photo by Ray Boone

Michael Cummings was the first to be addressed. Cummings, 46, was arraigned and pleaded not guilt to the first-degree murder of his ex-wife, Faith Cummings. Michael Cummings allegedly beat Faith Cummings, 44, to death following an argument in their home at Point Pleasant Drive on Jan. 11.

Michael Cummings was arrested on Jan. 15 and charged with second-degree murder. However, prosecutors presented new evidence to a grand jury that indicted him on the first-degree murder charge.

His next court date is set for Aug. 14.

Joseph Colon and Nathaniel Shimmel, who each face a first-degree murder charge of their own, where in the courtroom with Michael Cummings.

Joseph Colon at his pre-trial hearing on June 12. Photo by Ray Boone

Colon, 35, stands accused of selling heroin laced with fentanyl to 23-year-old Savannah DeAngelis, who overdosed in her Palm Coast home on Oct. 28. She was rushed to the hospital where she died on Nov. 13.

Shimmel, 23, allegedly murdered his mother at their home at 47 Woodhollow Lane in Palm Coast on Aug. 23 after she had threatened to kick him out of the house because he wasn’t getting a job. Deputies found 60-year-old Michele Shimmel stabbed to death in the front yard.

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, who presided over Tuesday’s hearings, set Colon’s and Shimmel’s next court dates for Aug. 14, as well.