VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A neighbor of Dana Plummer could have been stating Plummer’s snapping point.
“He had job stress and all that,” the neighbor said, “and that man was going through it, and he’s been going through it for a while.”
Plummer allegedly stabbed his estranged wife and stepdaughter.
“At first, I was confused,” said neighbor Anthony Cassanello. “Like, I got a knock on my door from the police officers, and then the story started coming out, it was heartbreaking.”
What was especially heartbreaking was the part about the 16-month-old who died from injuries in a violent car crash after Plummer fled the scene after the alleged stabbings.
Neighbor Shari Spors was left to wonder about neighbors, caring and support systems.
“They needed help,” Spors said, “and they did not feel like there was anybody they could go to, and I have been that neighbor, and I wish it weren’t that way anywhere. Everybody is a stranger to everybody.”
Spors said she knows herself about domestic abuse, and recalled the mother just before Christmas.
“I saw them moving in here shortly before Christmas,” Spors said. “She had so many kids, and I thought, ‘she is never going to get to bake cookies,’ so I brought her over Christmas cookies, and she seemed shocked. You know, like people don’t do that anymore. She just seemed like she was alone, and you know, had all these babies.”
She added: “I just wish people would get to know their neighbors and make an effort.”
Asked whether she thought she knew the stabbing victim, “I don’t think so,” shaking her head before adding, “I do not think so.”
Before she could be asked whether she wished she had known her, she nodded her head.
“I do wish it had been more than a plate of cookies, I do,” Spors said.
Background
After Dana Plummer separated from his wife, he moved around the corner. You can see kids’ toys in his small front yard.
Cassanello remembers seeing Plummer hanging around next door.
“I had seen him over here and I heard him bang on the door,” Cassanello said. “He used to come outside and play with the kids. I do not know if he was not allowed inside that is not my business.”
Cassanello also remembered the police who showed up Wednesday night after the stabbing attack.
“I did not hear anything when the police arrived, but they knocked on my door,” Cassanello said. “I was surprised. I said, ‘what is going on?’ And they said they cannot talk about it.”
Spors remembered the Plummer children.
“You would see little kids playing in the cul-de-sac, and [it] makes you happy, and then the next thing they are gone,” Spors said. “Now that baby is gone, and I cannot imagine what the mother is going through.”
Spors’ daughter saw police responding.
“By the time we came down, we saw flashlights in our window looking for something,” she said. “About 20 minutes later, they put up crime scene tape, and our whole cul-de-sac was taped off.”
Cassanello added: “She is a very lovely woman. Her kids are genuinely nice. They always come and pet my dog. It is tragic what happened.”
Another neighbor said that “my heart goes out to them. I hope they know that their community loves them.”
Spors then said: “We need to reach out to people that you think might be in trouble. We just never saw it in this case.”
