Larimer County coroner identifies Loveland man stabbed in East Sixth Street murder – Loveland Reporter-Herald

The Larimer County Coroner's Office has identified 60-year-old John “Clint” Cushman as the man killed last week in a home on East Sixth Street. Police also confirmed that the victim and suspect were a father and daughter.

Cushman, a Loveland resident, died of stab wounds, according to the coroner's office, and the death was ruled a homicide.

On September 9 at 10:17 p.m., the Loveland Police Department's emergency dispatch center received a call from Heather Cushman's sister asking for help. According to Heather Cushman's arrest affidavit, she told dispatch that Heather had a history of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Two minutes later, according to the affidavit, the department received a call from Heather herself. She reported to dispatch that she was “manic” and had bitten, punched and stabbed her father, John “Clint” Cushman. She also confronted him about the alleged abuse and said she knew he was dead.

Four LPD officers were dispatched to the scene and when they arrived, they were unable to locate anyone inside the home through the front door, but one officer found an open door to the home on the southwest side of the building, according to the release. Three of the officers entered the home through that open door, with one of them noticing a small staircase in a room. The officer reported discovering a pile of blankets at the bottom of the staircase with two human feet sticking out from underneath, according to the affidavit.

The same officer removed the blankets and found Clint Cushman with “an obvious wound to his chest, numerous cut marks on his shirt, and a large amount of blood.” He was “obviously dead,” the affidavit states.

Heather Cushman was eventually interviewed by two LPD detectives after her arrest early on the morning of Sept. 10. During that interview, the affidavit states, Heather admitted that her father allegedly touched her and her sister when they were younger. She said she was in the kitchen with John the night of the incident when she confronted him and told him he needed to apologize.

She claimed he then got in her face, punched her and put her in a headlock, the affidavit states. She later clarified that they both got “right in each other's faces” and yelled at each other.

She accused John of hitting her in the face multiple times, and she hit back, causing them to “struggle” and rush out of the kitchen. She said that during this, John grabbed a knife from a nearby counter and put it in her face, according to the affidavit.

Heather told investigators she grabbed John's wrist, jerked it upward, then took the knife and stabbed him, the affidavit states. She said she did not know how many times she stabbed her father, but later said, “It all happened very quickly.”

She further said she stabbed John twice in the chest before he turned and tried to flee. She claimed she followed him, grabbed his hand and turned him around before they both fell down the stairs into John's room. She claimed she then stabbed him six times, during which he allegedly tried to choke her.

She said that after the stabbing, she packed a bag with various food items and clothing. Her original plan was to take him to the basement because it was “hell” there.

Heather claimed that she was unable to move her father and eventually realized she had to turn herself in. But she also said that she left the clothes she was wearing in the kitchen and took a shower after the incident.

LPD investigators noticed that Heather had several visible injuries, including two small cuts on the outside of her left palm, a black eye, a bump and abrasions on her forehead, a swollen lip that was black and blue, an injury to her upper front teeth, dried blood in her nose and more, the affidavit states.

During the investigation, an LPD detective reviewed 911 recordings from the night of the incident. In one recording, Heather was heard saying she had bipolar disorder type 1 and was struggling with a manic episode. She added that she confronted her father about the abuse toward her, they got into an argument and she eventually killed him, the affidavit states. In the recording, Heather was also heard saying, “I'm in shock. I need help… apparently I'm a monster.”

Heather said in the phone call that she first went to the police, but then went to the Medical Center of the Rockies. According to the affidavit, she also made a comment about “seeing aliens, suffering from PTSD and 'all that shit.'”

During the phone call, she mentioned that her family had asked her to seek psychiatric help, but she had “not really” been able to do so. She recounted what had allegedly happened that night, including that the two had argued and that she had stabbed him.

During the phone call, she also said she should have gone to a crisis center, that she no longer had a father because she was a “stupid fucking bitch,” and that this was “the most sobering moment of her entire life,” the affidavit states. She also “started ranting, saying she saw demons, aliens and God.”

On the morning of September 10, another investigator spoke with Heather's sister, who said she was at her mother's house the night of the incident. She told the investigator that John told her how Heather allegedly tried to argue with him several times over the weekend.

The detective also spoke to Heather's mother and reviewed a text she sent at 10:09 p.m. the night of the incident.

“I confronted dad about sexually assaulting me when I was little, we got into a fight and I ended up killing him,” the text said. “I'm not kidding. I'm at the police station now turning myself in. I'm sorry mom. My mental health is spiraling out of control again. I should have gotten help sooner. I'm so sorry. Please get my dog ​​and cats.”

Heather Cushman has been charged with first-degree murder, a Class 2 felony. She is scheduled to appear before Judge Joseph Findley of the 8th District Court at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Originally published: September 16, 2024 at 16:55