Parents of Ethan Crumbley, teen suspect in Michigan school shooting, appear in court
James and Jennifer Crumbley, parents of the teenage suspect in the recent deadly shooting at a Michigan high school, made their first in-person appearance in court on Tuesday since their arrest on involuntary manslaughter charges.
The married couple were led into the courtroom at Rochester Hills District Court handcuffed and shackled and wearing prison jumpsuits, their faces mostly covered by surgical masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Their 15-year-old son, Ethan Crumbley, is accused of killing four students at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, Mich., and wounding seven others on Nov. 30 with a gun his parents allegedly gave him.
Ethan Crumbley was charged as an adult with murder, terrorism and other crimes. He pleaded not guilty.
Police said the parents were found hiding in a commercial building in Detroit after warrants were issued for their arrest. They each pleaded not guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter and are being held on $500,000 bond at Oakland County Jail, where their son is also being held.
Lawyers for the 15-year-old argued in court Monday that he should be transferred to a juvenile facility, but the judge denied that request. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 7.
At Tuesday's hearing, both the prosecution and lawyers for James and Jennifer Crumbley agreed to delay a probable-cause hearing in the case until February, citing an unprecedented volume of evidence and discovery that still needs to be processed.
According to Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald, James Crumbley purchased a Sig Sauer 9mm semiautomatic handgun, the weapon allegedly used by his son, four days before the shooting. A store employee told investigators that Ethan was with his father at the time of the purchase. The same day, Ethan posted photos of the gun to social media with the caption: “Just got my new beauty today.”
The next day, Jennifer Crumbley posted to social media suggesting that she and Ethan were testing out the gun, which she referred to as “his new Christmas present,” McDonald said.
On Nov. 21, McDonald said, a teacher at Oxford High School observed Ethan searching online for ammunition with his cellphone during class, and reported it to school officials, who informed Jennifer Crumbley but received no response from either parent. The same day, McDonald said, Jennifer exchanged text messages with her son about the reported incident, including one that read: "LOL I'm not mad at you, you have to learn not to get caught."
On the morning of the shooting, a teacher saw a note on Ethan's desk including a drawing of a semiautomatic handgun next to the words “The thoughts won’t stop, help me,” and a bullet below the words “Blood everywhere.” The note also included drawings of figures with gunshot wounds, as well as the phrases “My life is useless” and “The world is dead.”
The teacher was so alarmed she took a photo of the note with her cellphone. Jennifer and James Crumbley were immediately summoned to the school, McDonald said, and a school counselor pulled Ethan from class to meet with his parents. Ethan removed the note from his backpack, but it had already been altered, with the images of the gun and disturbing phrases “scratched out,” McDonald said.
School officials told Jennifer and James Crumbley that they were required to find counseling for their son within 48 hours. McDonald said both parents “failed to ask their son if he had his gun with him” and did not inspect his backpack. Prosecutors believe that the gun he allegedly used in the shooting was in his backpack at the meeting.
Jennifer and James Crumbley “resisted the idea of their son leaving the school at that time.” They left the school, and he returned to the classroom.
Hours later, amid news of an active shooter at the school, Jennifer Crumbley texted her son: “Ethan, don't do it.”
