On Thursday, prosecutors said in a filing that the parents of the suspect Oxford High School shooter offered a “greater risk of flight” now rather than when they were arraigned. They also said that the couple were aware of the problems that their son was facing but willfully disregarded his needs and wellbeing.
Ethan Crumbley, the alleged shooter at the Michigan school, has been charged with one count of terrorism causing death and four counts of first degree murder. He also faces seven counts of assault and 12 counts of possession of a firearm during a felony. His parents James and Jennifer Crumbley face four counts on involuntary manslaughter, individually. All three of them have pleaded not guilty.
The couple had recently argued that their bond that was set at $500,000 each was high. Their lawyers wanted the bond to be reduced to 100,000 for each parent stating that they were also devastated by the school shooting.
The prosecutors filed their reply on Thursday where they said that the bond amount was appropriate as the couple had tried to flee before their arraignment. According to the filing Ethan’s parents are reportedly behind on their house payments, they have sold their horses and had also intended to put their house on sale. They had four cell phones and had withdrawn a huge amount of money from their bank account. The prosecutors said that all these actions could be considering as a flight risk.
Prosecutor discloses Oxford school shooting suspect’s graphic drawing#EthanCrumbleyhttps://t.co/0PXJObaAAY pic.twitter.com/2eOr0j0byk
– GeezerWench (@BansbachRickie) December 25, 2021
The filing also detailed the actions of the parents and accused them of the following:
The suspect gave the “clearest sign” when he drew a picture of a gun and wrote “the thoughts won’t stop help me” and “blood everywhere” on what looked like a school worksheet.
They were focused on their own issues instead of their son’s issues as they knew he was facing difficult times after his “only friend” moved, his dog died and his parents had alleged relationship issues.
They bought him a gun and didn’t inform the school authorities of it despite being called and shown pictures drawn by him that depicted violence.
They did not take him home or even check his back pack the day they were called to his school when his graphic pictures were found.
The prosecutors allege that Ethan had tortured animals and that he had “a baby bird’s head in a jar” in the floor of his bedroom which was later found in the school’s toilet. Yet, his parents bough him a gun, instead of helping him.
