Parents of Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley: We never thought our son needed therapy

During his freshman year in high school, Ethan Crumbley texted his mom and friend that he was hallucinating, hearing voices and seeing demons.

In one text to his mom, he wrote that he saw a demon throwing bowls around the house — and that he had proof.

"I got some videos and a picture of the demon," the text read. "… it is throwing BOWLS … I'm not joking. it f----- up the kitchen."

James and Jennifer Crumbley, however, weren't alarmed — if a new court filing is any indication.

"The Crumbleys maintain that they did not have any reason to believe that the shooter had mental health concerns that would necessitate mental health treatment," defense lawyers wrote in a new court filing that for the first time asserts the parents didn't believe their son needed therapy.

'I'm going to tell them about the voices'

The Crumbleys are charged with involuntary manslaughter for, prosecutors allege, ignoring their son's mental health issues, failing to get him help and instead buying him a gun — which he used in the school shooting.

Up until now, the Crumbleys have maintained only that they properly secured the gun in a locked drawer, had no idea that their son would carry out a mass shooting and were not privy to text messages that he was sending a friend, telling him he was "mentally and physically dying."

"I am going to ask my parents to go to the doctor tomorrow … but this time I’m going to tell them about the voices," Ethan Crumbley texted the friend.

The Crumbleys maintain they knew none of that.

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"They admit that their son was experiencing sadness over the loss of his dog, his grandmother and a friend who had recently moved away," defense lawyers wrote in a new filing this week. "However, the evidence claiming that the shooter was asking his parents to get him to a doctor or get him help was sent in text messages to the shooter's friend. This was not information that either parent knew he was claiming."

Moreover, the defense argued, "the parents deny that he ever asked them to seek treatment for him."

Crumbleys: We're still his parents

These disclosures were made in a filing in which the Crumbleys are asking the judge to order the release of Ethan Crumbley's mental health evaluation reports that were performed prior to the teenager pleading guilty last month to murder, terrorism and assault. The parents' lawyers argue that the psychiatric findings and experts' conclusions may help their clients in their criminal case.

Moreover, they argue, James and Jennifer Crumbley are still Ethan's parents — and therefore are entitled to his mental health records.

"At this time, it is clear that Mr. and Mrs. Crumbley remain the parents of the shooter. Their parental rights have not been terminated, nor has a petition been filed against them," defense attorneys Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman argue in their filing.

The defense lawyers also note that the Crumbleys are still responsible for their son's health care treatment behind bars.

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"During the course of the criminal cases, it should be noted that although they are incarcerated, Mr. and Mrs. Crumbley have been involved in decisions regarding (Ethan's) mental health. Specifically, they have signed off on medication requests from the jail," the defense lawyers write.

The filing came on the same day that prosecutors sought a life sentence without the possibility of parole for Ethan Crumbley, who last month pleaded guilty to murdering four fellow classmates and injuring seven others on Nov. 30 at Oxford High School.

Shooter's mental health a key issue

Lawyers for the Crumbleys maintain that their son's mental health will be a key issue in the parents' trial, so they want to know all they can about Ethan's mental health status, as determined by experts who conducted examinations.

In January, Ethan Crumbley's defense team had notified the court that it would pursue an insanity defense, so the judge ordered a mental health evaluation.

The Crumbleys' lawyers assert that given Ethan Crumbleys "guilty as charged" plea, "it can be inferred that (he) was found to be competent, criminally responsible and not insane." But they don't know what the experts concluded, they argue. And until they do, the prosecution has an unfair advantage, they allege.

"Clearly, if evaluations and experts opined that the shooter did not have any mental health concerns or that his mental health concerns were different than what is indicated in the texts and messages anticipated at trial - that would be relevant and critical information for the defense to know," the Crumbleys' lawyers argue.

Here's how the parents believe their son's mental health status can help their case:

In charging the parents, prosecutors allege the Crumbleys did two things:

• They failed to exercise a legal duty — in this case, notify the school, after they were notified about his troubling behavior, that they had bought their son a gun.

• They engaged in gross negligence by allegedly ignoring a child with mental health issues, and buying him a gun instead of getting him help.

It's the latter issue that the Crumbleys believe the mental health evaluation can help them challenge.

"The potential for harm is very high if the parents are not given access to a central issue in the case: the shooter's mental health," argued the defense lawyers, who also vowed to keep any mental health information disclosed about Ethan Crumbley confidential.

"Clearly, the parents of the shooter do not intend to harm, annoy, intimidate or embarrass their son," the defense lawyers wrote.

According to the filing, the prosecutor's office has not objected to turning over the mental health evaluation to the Crumbleys, though such a move requires a court order.

The Crumbleys are scheduled to go to trial in January. They are the first parents in America charged in a mass school shooting. If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison.

Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: James, Jennifer Crumbley: We never thought Ethan needed therapy