Shaun Cummins: Murdered by his carer
Killer Britain with Dermot MurnaghanBoxing is a sport that comes with a significant amount of danger, and no one understood that more than Shaun Cummins. He was a successful boxer, but ironically, the danger he faced in his life did not come from his boxing career.
Shaun needed a carer for daily assistance after he was paralysed from the waist down due to a motorcycle accident. In September 2012, he was found dismembered in the freezers at his house. But why was he targeted, and who would commit such a brutal and vicious act against someone so severely paralysed?
Join us here at Crime+Investigation as we dive deeper into the violent murder of Shaun Cummins, and the greedy motivations surrounding his death. The case is also featured on the latest series of Killer Britain with Dermot Murnaghan, which is available now on Crime+Investigation.
Who was Shaun Cummins?
Shaun Cummins was born in Leicester in the UK on 8th February 1968. He started boxing professionally in 1986 after starting out at Belgrave Amateur Boxing Club. Over the years, Shaun earned an impressive boxing record. He held 22 wins across 29 fights, including 14 wins by knockout. He was unbeaten for the first seven fights of his career.
Shaun had to retire from boxing earlier than expected when he failed a routine brain scan after a fight in November 1995 with Neville Brown. Despite being cleared to fight in 2001, he did not box professionally again.
Following his retirement, Shaun took on several jobs, including a debt collector, a bodybuilder and a bodyguard for Lee Ryan from the boy band Blue.
Shaun earned a reputation for being somewhat difficult during his boxing career, earning the nickname The Guv’nor. He was also involved in controversy when, in 1997, he went to prison for six months after racially abusing and assaulting an Asian doctor.
Shaun Cummins' paralysis
In 2004, Shaun was travelling on a motorcycle when he was involved in a collision with a car. He suffered from a cut on his backside, which became infected and caused complications. These complications led to paralysis from the chest down, causing him to become dependent on assistance from nurses and carers. He received visits every day from community nurses, which was how he came to meet Thomas Dunkley.
Shaun Cummins and Thomas Dunkley
Dunkley had become a full-time carer for Shaun for the final two years of his life, establishing himself as a constant presence in his home by August 2012. Dunkley’s duties included delivering medication, changing sheets, and other general errands. He also handled financial transactions, as Shaun trusted him to do so.
The murder of Shaun Cummins
Shaun Cummins was found dead in his home on 12th September 2012. He had been dismembered, and his parts had been split up into freezers. It didn’t take long for authorities to arrest Thomas Dunkley and charge him with murder.
The last time anyone besides Dunkley saw Shaun alive was on 1st September 2012, when he was visited by nurses as usual. The next day, Dunkley told the nurses that Shaun was taken to hospital and he would keep them updated.
Between 1st and 2nd September, Dunkley conducted a number of damning internet searches. These searches included 'how long does it take to die after you are stabbed?' and 'what happens when you are stabbed in the stomach?'
Not long after these searches, Dunkley withdrew close to £11,000 from Shaun’s bank account. He spent it frivolously on hotels, clothes, meals and a car. He even had the audacity to buy the equipment that he used to try and hide his crimes with Shaun's money.
On 7th September, Dunkley dismembered Shaun with a chainsaw. He was seen purchasing this, along with a freezer, with Shaun’s credit card via CCTV. Dunkley stored the body parts in bin liners that had been sealed with duct tape and spread them across three freezers in Shaun’s home.
When it comes to a motive, Dunkley most likely took Shaun's life purely for financial gain. He owed close to £16,500 to creditors, and needed money to pay them off. The shopping binge he embarked on after Shaun’s death is also indicative of his money-fuelled motivation. Dunkley was also irritated that Shaun was not compensating him for his help, despite promising to do so.
Dunkley’s trial and conviction
Dunkley initially claimed that Shaun died in his sleep and that he dismembered him out of sheer panic. This theory was not accepted, and the jury found him guilty of murder with a majority verdict. In 2013, Thomas Dunkley was handed a life imprisonment sentence with a minimum term of 34 years.
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