Emily Brown
Alleged school shooter Ethan Crumbley is said to be receiving fan mail as he remains behind bars awaiting trial.
The 15-year-old has been accused of killing four students and injuring seven others during a shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan last November, though he has pleaded guilty to two dozen charges including first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism, and possession of a firearm.
Crumbley is currently awaiting trial in Oakland County adult jail, but after his defence team formally asked the court to move him to Children's Village in Pontiac, Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Collins argued he should remain where he is.
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During a hearing about the teenager's confinement, Collins claimed he has demonstrated he can be calculating and has a desire to be remembered for his alleged crimes. Crumbley is also said to enjoy the attention surrounding him in the wake of the shooting, including emails he has received from women, NBC News reports.
As quoted by the prosecutor, Crumbley has allegedly asked, 'How to do I get my fan mail, how do I get my hate mail?'
Attorney Paulette Loftin claimed Oakland County jail is 'not equipped with handling juveniles' as she acknowledged the emails and argued that communication would be better supervised if Crumbley was held at Children's Village.
She said, 'These are emails from strangers all around the world. At Children’s Village we are able to control that communication.'
Crumbley's defence team also claimed Crumbley has hardly been in direct contact with anyone except his lawyers since arriving at Oakland County, despite a possible need for psychiatric supervision, and that he was removed from 'constant watch'.
Loftin also pointed out that Crumbley had no prior criminal or disciplinary school record to speak of, and said therefore he should be allowed to wait for trial with defendants his age.
Collins, however, said Crumbley already allegedly killed four classmates and that moving Crumbley may put other teenagers at the facility in danger, which is 'contrary to the rehabilitation of those at Children's Village'.
She said, 'He enjoyed his dark side, he's fascinated with violence.'
Markeisha Washington, the chief of Family Support Division at the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, told the hearing, 'In his journal, he described the type of gun he needed, who his first victim would be and ultimately he expressed that he would surrender so that he could witness the pain and suffering that he caused. This shows the sophistication beyond that of an average 15-year-old.'
In response to the arguments, Judge Kwame Rowe said he would make a decision in the coming days.
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