Michigan School Shooting: Parents Plead Not Guilty After Their Son Allegedly Killed Four Students
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The parents of Michigan school shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley have pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald’s office filed the charges against Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, after their 15-year-old son allegedly opened fire at Oxford High School in Michigan.
Just hours after the charges were announced, the parents went missing and were later found in a commercial building where they ‘appeared to be hiding’.
A statement released by the couple’s lawyers today, December 4, denied they were on the run, and instead claimed they were returning to the area after leaving ‘for their own safety’ on the night of the shooting.
Per CNN, attorneys said the couple ‘fully intended’ to turn themselves in ‘first thing this morning for arraignment’.
In a news conference this morning, Detroit Police Chief James White said the parents were ‘very distressed’ after they were detained. He stressed there was no sign that the Crumbleys had wanted to be found, and noted that someone had let the couple into the building where they had been discovered.
White said that person could face charges for their role, and added of the parents: ‘This isn’t indicative of turning themselves in, hiding in a warehouse.’
The parents pleaded not guilty to the four counts of involuntary manslaughter at the arraignment.
Bond for James and Jennifer has been set at $500,000 each, with the parents told they could each face up to 15 years behind bars if found guilty.
Ethan Crumbley was charged as an adult with terrorism, murder and other counts following the attack, which reportedly marked the deadliest shooting at a US K-12 campus since 2018. The 15-year-old is being held at Oakland County Jail.
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