PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — The Pontiac, Mich. (AP) — The Pontiac, A judge set a combined $1 million bond for the parents of the Michigan teen accused of killing four students at Oxford High School, just hours after police said they were found hiding in a Detroit commercial building.
Both James and Jennifer Crumbley took the stand during a Zoom hearing and pleaded not guilty to all four counts of involuntary manslaughter levelled at them. When the prosecutor claimed that their son had full access to the gun used in the killings, James Crumbley shook his head and Jennifer Crumbley sobbed.
Judge Julie Nicholson agreed with prosecutors that the parents posed a flight risk by imposing a $500,000 bond on each of them and requiring GPS monitoring if they paid to be released.
It was still argued Saturday that the Crumbleys never intended to flee and that they had already made plans to meet with their defence attorneys early in the morning. Law enforcement officials have been accused by Shannon Smith’s attorney of “cherry-picking” evidence, including the allegation that their teenage son was armed with a gun that was bought for him by his father only weeks beforehand.
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That gun “was locked,” Smith said, adding that “our clients are devastated.” On Saturday, she didn’t go into any more detail.
An involuntary manslaughter charge was brought against the Crumbley family on Friday by Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald’s office, who claims that despite being confronted with a disturbing drawing and the message “blood everywhere” found on the boy’s desk on the day of the tragedy, they did nothing to help save the boy’s life that fateful day. Prosecutors say they could face up to 15 years in prison per person.
After purchasing a gun on Black Friday and making it available to Ethan Crumbley, the Crumbleys committed “egregious” acts, including refusing to allow him to be removed from school when he was summoned hours before the shooting, McDonald claimed Friday.
The couple had been missing since Friday afternoon when authorities began searching for them. For information leading to their arrest, the United States Marshals Service announced a reward of up to $10,000 for each suspect late on Friday.
According to Smith, the Crumbleys’ lawyer, the couple had left town earlier in the week “for their own safety” and would be returning to Oxford, where they would be charged, to face charges.
During Saturday’s hearing, Smith stated that she and fellow defence attorney Mariell Lehman had been in touch by phone and text on Friday evening and that prosecutors had failed to communicate with them.
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she said, “it was just a matter of logistics” for our clients to turn themselves in.
Nonetheless, McDonald claimed on Saturday that the couple withdrew $4,000 from an ATM in Rochester Hills on Friday morning, just a few blocks from the courthouse where they were scheduled to appear that afternoon.
According to her, “These are not individuals who we can be confident will return to court on their own.”
Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said in a statement that a Detroit business owner spotted a vehicle linked to the Crumbleys late Friday. When the business owner called 911, McCabe said, a woman who had been seen near the vehicle fled. Detroit police were able to track down and apprehend the couple.
It’s possible that the person who assisted the couple in getting into the building, according to Detroit Police Chief James E. White, will also be charged.
It was on Friday afternoon that McDonald gave the most detailed account yet of what led to the shooting at Oxford High School, which is located about 30 miles north of Detroit.
Investigators say, Ethan Crumbley, 15, shot students in the hallway after emerging from a bathroom with a gun. Murder, terrorism and other crimes have been brought against him as an adult, and he’s being held without bail.
A charge of involuntary manslaughter against parents in Michigan can be pursued if authorities believe that someone contributed to a situation where there was a high probability of harm or death.
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Despite the fact that most minors who obtain firearms do so from a parent or relative, parents in the United States rarely face criminal charges in connection with school shootings involving their children.
As soon as a teacher saw him looking for ammunition on his phone, school officials became concerned about the younger Crumbley, McDonald said.
After being contacted, Jennifer Crumbley sent her son a text message saying, “Lol. I’m not enraged by your actions, and I don’t intend to be. According to the prosecutor, “you have to learn not to get caught.”
Earlier this week, one of Ethan’s teachers noticed a note on his desk and took a picture of it. The words “The thoughts won’t stop” were depicted with a gun drawn across the top of it. “Help me,” McDonald pleaded.”
“Blood everywhere” was written above a drawing of a bullet, she said.
A person who appears to have been shot twice and is bleeding can be seen between the gun and the bullet. According to the prosecutor, he also wrote, “My life is useless” and “The world is dead.”
According to McDonald, the school convened a meeting with Ethan’s parents right away and instructed them to get him into counselling within 48 hours.
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Parents did not question their son about the gun or perform a backpack check, according to McDonald, who claims the Crumbleys “resisted the idea of their son leaving the school at that time.
After returning to class, the adolescent opened fire.
Superintendent Tim Throne released a statement on Saturday detailing the school’s response to Crumbley’s actions for the very first time. Crumbley told counsellors and staff members that his family enjoys shooting sports as a pastime, according to Throne.
As detailed in the letter, at the second meeting with guidance counsellors, Crumbley claimed that the drawings were for the creation of video games and declared his intention to do so. He stayed calm and worked on homework while school staff tried to contact his parents and they arrived at the school, according to guidance counsellors.
At that meeting, counsellors were unaware that the parents had recently purchased a gun for their son, Thorne said.
There had been no prior disciplinary infractions, so it was decided to send him back to school rather than have him go home alone.
It was previously argued that Crumbleys’ parents should have informed counsellors that their son had access to a gun when they were summoned for a meeting about his behaviour.
“Ethan, don’t do it,” Jennifer Crumbley texted her son after the shooting, she said on Friday.
There was a gun missing from their home, and James Crumbley called 911 to report it. Ethan might be the shooter. According to McDonald, the gun had been left in an open drawer in the parents’ bedroom.
When Ethan went gun shopping with his father on Nov. 26, he wrote on social media, “Just got my new beauty today,” and posted photos of the weapon.
“Mom and son day testing his new Christmas present,” Jennifer Crumbley wrote on social media over the Thanksgiving weekend, the prosecutor said.
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When asked at a press conference if the father could be held liable for buying the son’s gun, McDonald said federal authorities would make that decision.
We inquired about McDonald’s reasoning for keeping Crumbley in school.
Naturally, he shouldn’t have returned to that classroom… That’s what I believe is universal. There is no need to chastise or attack me, but…
“The investigation is ongoing,” McDonald responded when asked if school officials could face criminal charges.
Foody was in Chicago reporting from the city. Reporting for this article was done in part by the Associated Press’ Ed White and Mike Householder in Detroit; David Eggert in Lansing, Mich; and John O’Connor in Springfield, Ill
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