Misty Croslin makes court appearance Monday over post-conviction relief

Misty Croslin represented herself when she appeared before Judge Michael Traynor in a St. Johns County courtroom Monday to argue a motion to extend the time period to apply for post-conviction relief.

Croslin, 23, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on a series of drug trafficking charges in 2011.

However, she is also a suspect in a case regarding the disappearance of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings in 2009.

Croslin called 911 at 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2009, to report that Haleigh was gone from the Satsuma mobile home she shared with Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings.

Detectives led intense searches that included a section of the St. Johns River near Satsuma, but no evidence was found that a body was dumped there.

Following the 25-year sentence on drug trafficking charges, Croslin's family hired an attorney, Kepler Funk, to investigate the sentence to determine if there was a viable reason to file a motion for ineffective assistance from the counsel.

"The only thing this hearing is about is whether she's entitled to a belated motion," Judge Michael Traynor said. "It doesn't say anything about the merits of the findings."

A defendant has two years to file such a motion, and Croslin's two years ended in 2013. She entered a motion to extend that period another two years, citing that she missed her deadline because she was under the impression that Funk was filing the motion.

She also said that she never received formal paperwork that he was not taking the case.

However, Funk cannot confirm or deny that he did not send a letter.

"I would typically send a letter," he said to the court over the phone, "But I can't say for sure that I did because I had a horrible computer crash."

Both Croslin's mother, Lisa Croslin and close friend, Charles Lee said that they paid the $3,000 investigation fee and Funk told them over the phone that he was not going to take the case.

They also said they asked Funk for Croslin's paperwork, and they never received it.

Traynor gave Funk 15 days to gather any court documents.

"There's too much uncertainty regarding whether or not they were told that Funk was not going to file," he said. "If I don't get anything further regarding communication between the family and the attorney, then I'll be able to make a decision at that time. I may end up granting her the ability to file."