James Crumbley and Jennifer Crumbley.Photo: Oakland County Sheriff’s Office
James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents ofMichigan high school shootingsuspect Ethan Crumbley, have pleaded not guilty after being charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Judge Julie Nicholson of Rochester Hills District Court set a $500,000 cash surety no 10% bond for both James and Jennifer at aZoom arraignmentSaturday morning. Judge Nicholson scheduled a probable cause conference for Dec. 15, and set a preliminary hearing for Dec. 22.
According to McDonald, James purchased the weapon used in the Tuesday shooting at Oxford High School that left four students dead, as PEOPLE previously reported.
The couple did not appear for their arraignment scheduled for Friday afternoon, per theFree Press, and the U.S. Marshals Service subsequently released wanted posters of the couple and sent out a reward offer to anyone with information that could lead to their arrest.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told reporters at a Saturday afternoon press conference that James and Jennifer were found inside an art studio within a building on Bellevue Street in Detroit around 1:30 a.m. local time after Detroit police were notified that their car had been sighted late Friday night.
“Unfortunately, this case presents the most unimaginable tragedy for every single person involved, including every member of the community,” Smith and Lehman stated. “While it’s human nature to want to find someone to blame or something to point to or something that gives us answers, the charges in this case are intended to make an example and send a message. The prosecution has very much cherry-picked and slanted specific facts to further their narrative to do that.”
“We intend to fight this case in the courtroom and not in the court of public opinion,” they added. “We know that in the end the entire story and truth will prevail.”
James and Jennifer’s 15-year-old son, Ethan, is facing 24 charges in connection to the Tuesday shooting, according to CBS News. The charges include four counts of first-degree murder and one terrorism count. Ethan is being charged as an adult, and has pleaded not guilty, PEOPLEpreviously reported.
The three individuals have been separated and isolated from one another and remain under suicide watch “out of an abundance of caution,” though Bouchard says “there was no indication that any of them were suicidal.”
Tuesday’s mass shooting leftfour students deadand seven people injured, including one teacher. The victims of the shooting were Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Justin Shilling, 17.
source: people.com
