(WWJ) – The parents of accused Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley are asking for a lower bond so they can get out of jail.
James and Jennifer Crumbley – who have been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the Nov. 30 shooting that killed four students – are being held on $500,000 cash bonds each, but attorneys are asking for that to be reduced to $100,000 each, according to documents filed in court on Wednesday.
The defense team argues that the Crumbleys pose no danger to the community.
The Crumbleys have been accused of buying the gun their son used in the shooting and making it accessible to the 15-year-old, who has been charged as an adult with a slew of charges, including first-degree murder and terrorism resulting in death.
Attorneys say prosecutors “will not be able to prove that the Crumbleys willfully disregarded any fact or circumstance that caused harm to another, that they knew their son was a danger to other students, or that they knew there was a situation that required them to take care to avoid injuring another," according to the attorneys’ filing.
"The Crumbleys, like every parent and community member, are devastated by the school shooting on November 30, 2021,” the document goes on to say, according to the Detroit Free Press. “The last thing they expected was that a school shooting would take place, or that their son would be responsible. This situation is entirely devastating.”
In Wednesday’s filing, lawyers go on to say that when Jennifer Crumbley texted “don’t do it, Ethan,” to her son the day of the shooting, she was telling him not to kill himself.
"When Mrs. Crumbley texted Ethan, 'Don't do it,' ... the shootings had already happened, Mr. Crumbley had determined the gun was missing and had notified authorities, and Mrs. Crumbley was texting her son to tell him not to kill himself," the lawyers said in the filing.
The parents appeared in court last week, when Judge Julie Nicholson agreed to delay a preliminary hearing until Feb. 8 to give both sides more time to gather and look over evidence, at the request of Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald.
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The judge said during the Dec. 14 hearing that she will hear arguments about bond for the parents on Jan. 7, at the request of defense attorneys.
McDonald told reporters that the Crumbleys are where they need to be. "We are going to argue vigorously that they should remain detained, based on the fact that...when the charges were issued they didn't turn themselves in and they tried to flee, and the seriousness of the crime."
Ethan Crumbley, meanwhile, remains behind bars in the Oakland County Jail after a request to move him back to a juvenile facility was denied.
Crumbley is accused of opening fire inside the school, just hours after meeting with school officials over behavioral concerns.
Those killed in the shooting were 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 17-year-old Justin Shilling.
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