OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald in a new court filing says their case against the parents of the accused Oxford School shooter is “stronger” and that Jennifer and James Crumbley are “at a greater risk of flight” now.
The motion is in response to the parents asking for a reduction in their bond from $500,000 to $100,000. They are both charged with involuntary manslaughter. They face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecution Brief Crumbley by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
The prosecutor spells out “critically important facts known to defendants but not disclosed to the court in the defendants' motion.”
The evidence is the parents bought their son Ethan a handgun as a Christmas present days before the school shooting on Nov. 30. They did not disclose that when they were called to the school before the shooting, and they were shown a picture Ethan had drawn depicting a shooting. It was discovered by a teacher who took a picture of it. The drawing was then scratched out before the meeting in the school office.
The prosecutor states in the court document:
- The parents left Oxford High School at approximately 10:55 a.m. or two hours before the shooting
- They knew their son was depressed
- He was fascinated with guns
- He had been researching ammunition while at school
- The morning of the shooting, he was seen watching violent video of shootings
- His only friend moved away
- The family dog died
- The parents were “over $11,000 behind on their house payments”
- The house was for sale
The prosecutor argues the parents were hiding out in a building in Detroit the day they were charged.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, who is not part of this case, told 7 Action News that Judge Julie Nicholson in 53-3 District Court will have a difficult time reducing the bond.
A hearing is set for Jan. 7.
