Prosecutors: Our case against Crumbley parents is stronger than ever

In an effort to keep James and Jennifer Crumbley locked up, the prosecution has disclosed new evidence that it says shows the couple to be a greater flight risk than ever before and strengthens the novel case against the Oxford school shooter's parents.

The evidence is a statement by the mom and one by the son, Ethan Crumbley, who has pleaded guilty to murdering four fellow students and injuring seven others in a rampage on Nov. 30, 2021.

In a late Friday court filing, Oakland County prosecutors disclosed a statement that Jennifer Crumbley made in the back of a police car the night she was arrested, when she said: "You know, my biggest fear was that he was gonna turn the gun on himself."

More:Oxford school officials: Ethan Crumbley's parents never refused to take him home

More:Oxford High School shooter should've been sent home under policy, former school officials say

Prosecutors cite Ethan Crumbley's statement to contradict his parents

That statement proves Jennifer Crumbley knew her son was troubled when she and her husband bought him a gun, the prosecution argues in its filing. It also disclosed a message that Jennifer Crumbley had sent to her husband in March 2021, stating that she was "freaking out" because her son had not been home from school yet.

"I told you to pick him up because he's upset and I don't want him to do anything stupid," states the message, which the prosecution argues is more proof the mom was aware of her son's mental health struggles.

The prosecution also asserts that it has now "established conclusively that the murder weapon was not locked up" — which has been a key sticking point in the case.

The Crumbleys have consistently maintained the gun was locked in a drawer. But when their son pleaded guilty in October, he said he had access to it. "It was not locked," he said.

"That statement came under oath from a witness the (Crumbleys) have endorsed, and from the one person who knows better than anyone else how he got the gun — their son," the prosecution argues in its filing, which is a response to the Crumbleys' request this week that they be released on a lower bond.

More:Crumbleys seek lower bond again: We never tried to flee. We can prove it.

More:Ethan Crumbley: I gave my dad money to buy gun used in school shooting

Prosecution promises still more evidence

It is their sixth such request. All five have been previously denied.

The prosecution argues this one should be, too.

"The case against the (Crumbleys) is stronger now that it was at the time of any prior bond review," Friday's filing said, noting that more evidence has yet to come out. "As the court and counsel are aware, the (prosecutors) did not, and never do, present all their evidence at a preliminary examination."

As for why these new details are trickling in, the prosecutor wrote: "Because these defendants continually assert that the likelihood of conviction is low, the (prosecution is) continually compelled to respond and cite additional evidence."

The prosecutor added: "It is important to note that there is no new information that suggests that these defendants will not attempt to flee."

More:Remembering the Oxford victims

The prosecution is referring to a filing by attorneys for the Crumbleys, who maintain their clients were never on the run on the night they were arrested in a Detroit art studio in 2021 following the shooting. They maintain their clients had to leave their home due to fear for their safety, stayed in the friend's art studio for the night — which is supported by surveillance video — and had planned to turn themselves in the following morning for arraignments.

Defense lawyers Shannon Smith and Meriell Lehman have argued that the Crumbleys had hired them as lawyers in the wake of the shooting — and that it doesn't make sense to suggest they were on the run when they had retained lawyers.

But prosecutors note in Friday's filing that the couple was arrested in the middle of the night by a fugitive apprehension team, several hours before their arraignments. Prosecutors say the Crumbleys had four burner phones, threw one away, used only cash and destroyed an incriminating Facebook page — all which they maintain points to being on the run.

The Crumbleys say they got burner phones because the cops took theirs, and used cash to avoid having to go to a bank and be harassed by members of the public.

Where the case against the Crumbleys stands

So far, the Crumbleys have lost all efforts to be released pending appeals, and remain locked up on $500,000 bond, which their lawyers argued in a filing this week are excessive and unnecessary.

The Crumbleys are charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly ignoring a troubled son, buying him a gun instead of getting him help, and then failing to disclose that to the school when they were summoned over a violent drawing he had made.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has maintained that the Crumbleys were in a position — above anyone else — to prevent that shooting had they just disclosed to the school that they bought their son a gun as an early Christmas present. But they didn't, and four days after buying him the gun, Ethan admitted he used it to shoot up his school.

The Crumbleys maintain they kept the gun locked in a drawer, and had no way of knowing their son was going to use it to shoot up his school.

The Crumbleys' trial, meanwhile, has been put on hold. It was scheduled for January, but the Michigan Supreme Court temporarily halted it last month and ordered the court of appeals to review whether there was probable cause to bind the couple over for trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.

The prosecution says there was. The defense says there wasn't.

Ethan Crumbley faces a sentence of up to life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced next year.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Prosecutors: Our case against Crumbley parents is stronger than ever