Ethan Crumbley, 15, of Oxford High School, is facing life in prison without parole after he pleads guilty to terrorism and murder charges
A teenager accused of killing four students and wounding seven others at a Michigan high school last year is expected to plead guilty to murder charges Monday, prosecutors said.
The filings stem from the mass shooting at Oxford High School in which Ethan Crumbley, 15 at the time, killed four students and injured six students and a teacher at his high school. He faces up to life in prison without parole after he pleaded guilty to terrorism and murder charges.
The prosecutors argued that the parents could have done more to prevent the tragedy, other than simply locking up the gun, and that they played a larger role than just buying their son a gun.
The parents have pleaded not guilty, and their attorneys have argued in court documents the charges have no legal justification and the couple should not be held responsible for the killings their son is accused of committing.
The trial for the parents was initially scheduled to begin Monday but was postponed last month to start in January. The Crumbleys remain in custody at the jail.
The Case of Ethan Crumbley: An Arsonist, a Gunman, and a Crime against a Black Hole in Michigan
Students and teachers relied on tactics they’d learned in active shooter drills to protect themselves. frightened students hid doors, turned off their lights and called for help when the gunfire erupted Some of the children armed themselves with scissors, in case they needed to fight back.
Four students died that day: Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six students and a teacher were injured.
Prosecutors in Michigan disclosed more evidence in recent court filings they say shows the mother of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley knew about his unhealthy mental state when the parents bought him a gun last November.
“You know my biggest fear was that he was gonna turn the gun on himself,” Jennifer Crumbley, his mother, said in the back of the police car after the shooting, according to one filing.
The quote was included in a filing from Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald that opposed the parents’ latest effort to appeal their bond that has kept them behind bars for over a year.
In an unusual move, prosecutors arrested his parents and accused them of giving their son easy access to a firearm and disregarding signs he was a threat. The parents were arrested days after the shooting in a Detroit warehouse following a manhunt after they failed to come to court for their initial arraignment.
The prosecution said in the court filings that she did not look at the drawings her son made in school.
The court documents show that she expressed concern over the drawings to her husband, saying things like ‘Call NOW.’ The court filing states that there is an emergency.
A Motion to Set Lower Bonds and Release the Crumbley’s on Electronic Supervision after the Michigan School Shooting Involved a Child
There was enough evidence for the case to go to trial after prosecutors presented some evidence during a preliminary hearing in February.
The Michigan Supreme Court delayed the start of the trial because they wanted the case to go to the Court of Appeals for determination of the guilt or innocence of the defendants. The court’s order was unusual and suggests the judges have concerns about the case, CNN legal analyst Paul Callan said at the time.
James and Jennifer Crumbley, held on bonds each set at $500,000 in cash or surety, filed a motion last week asking the court to set lower bonds or release them on electronic supervision.
The motion claims that the prosecution has made the Crumbley’s sound like they were fleeing prior to their arrest.
The couple wrote they never tried to flee in the days after the shooting but stayed in-state and retained counsel. They left their home and stayed with a friend in Detroit because they were told to leave by law enforcement, but the local family wouldn’t let them in because they were scared, according to the motion.
The motion says the Crumbley’s decided to sell their home to pay legal costs and because they decided it would not be safe to stay there. If they are released on bond, they have a place to stay.
They argue they are not a threat to the community in part because their son is in custody and all of their guns, including BB guns, were seized by law enforcement.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/15/us/crumbley-parents-oxford-school-shooting/index.html
The Oakland County Circuit Circuit’s Circuit Circuit Judge Orders on the Bond-Bond Conjecture ”Inappropriate”
The Oakland County Circuit judge ruled in an order Tuesday that she does not have the jurisdiction to rule on the bond issue because of the pending appeal. The parties in the case are under a gag order, unable to communicate with the press.