(WWJ) – James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of suspected Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, are asking for help from the Michigan Supreme Court, once again asking for their case to be thrown out.
This summer the parents’ attorneys attempted to get the Michigan Court of Appeals to dismiss the case, but the court shot that request down. Now, in new documents filed Tuesday, attorneys are asking the Supreme Court to release the Crumbleys while their case moves through legal proceedings and to put a hold on the case while an appeal is heard.
The Crumbleys, held on $500,000 bond each since being arrested at a Detroit art studio last December, are charged with involuntary manslaughter after their son, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, shot and killed four students at Oxford High School last Nov. 30.
Prosecutors allege the parents' actions at home, including allegedly allowing access to the murder weapon, helped lead their son to violence.
According to Tuesday’s filings, the defense is also arguing the Crumbleys should not be prosecuted for the murders committed by their child. WWJ Legal Analyst says this is a “guilt by association” argument.
“Just because you have a bad kid doesn’t mean that the parents would be subjected to murder, or in this case, involuntary manslaughter,” Langton said is the thinking behind the argument.
Langton says the attorneys also want the high court to say that journal entries and text messages made by their son shouldn’t be admissible.
“All those drawings, all of those sayings, writing about ‘I’m reaching out’ – all the stuff that Ethan wrote shouldn’t be admissible in the trial of the parents because it’s just too prejudicial,” he said.
The attorneys also claim in the Supreme Court filing that Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is making unfair comments about them despite a gag order.
Langton says the Michigan Supreme Court doesn’t have to take any case – and probably won’t, just like the Court of Appeals.
“In other words, they’re gonna have a trial and then after the trial, maybe they can renew their appeal,” he said. “But right now, I don’t think so. The Supreme Court is probably gonna make a decision pretty quickly and then they’ll be set for trial in the near future, but let’s see what happens.”
The Crumbleys are scheduled to appear in court again later this month.
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