Artist identified as link to James and Jennifer Crumbley hiding space in Detroit
The person believed to have offered James and Jennifer Crumbley his office in Detroit while they were being sought by police has identified himself as a metro Detroit artist.
Andrzej Sikora has talked to police about his involvement, his lawyer, Clarence Dass, said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
“Mr. Sikora has not been charged with any crime. Nevertheless, upon learning of the Crumbleys’ arrest on December 4, 2021, he voluntarily contacted the Detroit Police Department and Oakland County Sheriff’s Office to provide information. He maintains his innocence throughout this process and is fully cooperating with law enforcement to assist in their investigation.”
Oakland County Sheriff Department Undersheriff Michael McCabe confirmed Sikora's lawyer has contacted them and an interview is being set up.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a news release late Sunday that Sikora will be interviewed by detectives Monday afternoon.
“We will vigorously investigate the totality of the situation so a determination can be made if there is any criminality or obstruction of justice involved,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in the release.
The link between Sikora and the Crumbley parents was first reported by the Daily Beast.
Ethan Crumbley has been charged with terrorism and multiple counts of first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, and weapons crimes, and is facing life in prison. The Oakland County prosecutor charged his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter. That charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
After the prosecutor announced charges against the parents on Friday afternoon, police and prosecutors believed the Crumbleys would turn themselves in.
They did not.
Instead, a manhunt that included local police, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshal Service ended in the early morning hours of Saturday, when the Detroit police received a tip that led them to an art studio inside a commercial building on the city's east side where police took them into custody.
That studio, Decora Interior Art Design, is owned by Sikora.
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Bouchard said Saturday afternoon that his office was investigating an unnamed person for the crime of aiding and abetting or obstruction of justice.
Bouchard described the place where the Crumbleys were found as "an art studio within that building that has multiple kinds of partitions, if you will, in that building.
“We believe they were assisted in that location, to get there, to get in, and we’re gathering that information and we’re going to have the totality of that done fairly soon and present that to our prosecutor for potential charges for either aiding and abetting or obstruction of justice. That will be a determination by our prosecutor at some point in the near future. That is a work in progress.
“Given that they were hiding in a warehouse in Detroit it certainly raises my eyebrows."
He was asked why they were in Detroit:
“That’s one of the questions, why they were there, why they were in a commercial building in that form and fashion,” he said. “Where they were, how they were, seems to support the position they were hiding and they weren’t looking for surrendering at that point.
“We obviously don’t have any charges at this point but that’s part of the investigation and ultimately if there are charges that are applicable that will be the prosecutor’s decision. We’re trying to put together as much detailed information on that as it relates to that. Suffice to say we have enough early indications that clearly somebody helped them into that location and made it available to them. And it was after it was publicly announced that there were warrants for them."
Sikora was born in Zielona Gora, Poland, and moved to the U.S. in 1990, according to his website. He is known for his mural work in several private residences and businesses around metro Detroit.
Last month, the Oxford Leader newspaper published a photo of Sikora standing to next to a large mural at the Red Knapp’s restaurant in downtown Oxford. The photo, which is no longer active on the Oxford Leader's website, can still be seen by using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
The photo is credited to Jehn Crumbley. That's the name that Jennifer Crumbley, a former Realtor, and marketing director, uses professionally.
Staff writers Jennifer Dixon and Christine MacDonald contributed to this report.
Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj. Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Artist identified as link to Crumbley hiding space in Detroit
