Ethan Crumbley’s parents are facing involuntary manslaughter charges as prosecutors revealed text messages between them and the shooter before the attack took place. They missed their arraignment on Friday and were considered fugitives at that point.
A manhunt ensued for Jennifer and James Crumbley after they missed their arraignment on Friday. Someone spotted the Crumbley’s vehicle and reported it to the police resulting in their arrest early Saturday morning. Police reported that Jennifer and James were found in a warehouse and seemed to be hiding and distressed. It is believed that a friend opened the building in question and allowed them to hide inside.
The couple’s attorney, Shannon Smith, stated that the couple had left town because they feared for their safety due to public outcry over the incident and that they intended to turn themselves into police Saturday morning even though they were supposed to appear in court Friday at 4 p.m.
Once Jennifer and James Crumbley were in custody they pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from Ethan Crumbley’s shooting at Oxford High School earlier this week.
Detroit Police Chief James White said that someone let them into the warehouse and may face charges for aiding them.
“The action of fleeing and ignoring their attorney certainly adds weight to the charges,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a release. “They cannot run from their part in this tragedy.”
The couple has denied the prosecutors’ claims that Ethan had unrestricted access to the 9mm Sig Sauer SP 2022 they purchased as a Christmas gift for him.
They also denied prosecutors’ claims that their son had unrestricted access to the gun that they had purchased for him. Even more incriminating against Jennifer and James is the fact they withdrew $4,000 from an ATM after the charges against them were announced.
Normally we’re very skeptical when parents are charged alongside their teenage children in cases like this. While it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure firearms are out of the hands of children, how do we know that the teenagers didn’t break into the safe or wherever the guns were and take them without the parents knowing?
In this case, considering the text messages and the fact that they were called to the school just hours before the mass murder of the children to discuss a disturbing drawing that Ethan had done depicting himself shooting another person weighs heavily against them.
“The day of the shooting, a teacher found a note on Ethan Crumbley’s desk that alarmed her so much she took a picture of it on her phone, McDonald said. The note included a drawing of a semiautomatic handgun pointing at the words, ‘The thoughts won’t stop. Help me,’ she said,” according to a report from CNN. “Another section was a drawing of a bullet with the words ‘Blood Everywhere’ written above it. Between the drawing of the gun and the bullet is one of a person who seems to have been shot twice and is bleeding, McDonald said.”
Running from the police and going into hiding is not indicative of people who are sorry for aiding in this senseless tragedy or are seeking the truth to come out.
Their son outwardly said that he was going to go on a mass shooting at his high school more than once. He posted videos the night before online, they ignored phone calls from the school when Ethan was searching for ammunition on his phone opting to text him instead, and he drew the picture the morning of. His parents were aware of the threat, they met with administrators, and they did nothing to prevent this tragedy.
On Monday, the day before the shooting, a teacher found the teenager searching for ammunition on his phone, prosecutors said.
When school officials tried to contact Jennifer Crumbley about the incident, she allegedly ignored their calls but texted her son: “LOL I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.”
“This is a very serious, horrible, terrible murder and shooting, and it has affected the entire community, and these two individuals could have stopped it,” she said.
“They had every reason to know that he was dangerous, and they gave him a weapon and they didn’t secure it and they allowed him free access to it.”
The four students who died in the shooting are 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 15-year-old Justin Shilling.
