Michigan school shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley will plead insanity
The Michigan high school student accused of gunning down four of his classmates at a suburban Detroit school will plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
Ethan Crumbley’s lawyers filed a notice Thursday indicating what kind pf defense they’re planning for their client.
Crumbley, 15, is charged as an adult with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of terrorism, among several other crimes, in connection with the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School, about 35 miles north of Detroit.
He will now undergo multiple psychiatric evaluations: one from Michigan’s Center for Forensic Psychiatry, one by a defense expert and one by an expert hired by the prosecution.
In prior court filings, prosecutors noted Crumbley’s fragile mental state. They cited a worksheet where he drew a gun and a person apparently dying along with the phrases “My life is useless,” “The world is dead” and “blood everywhere.” They also noted another paper that included a desperate plea: “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”
Prosecutors said Crumbley kept a baby bird head in a jar and that his parents knew he was “depressed” and “watching violent videos of shootings.”
The evidence of Crumbley’s mental state has largely been presented in legal procedures against his parents, James and Jennifer, who are charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter for buying Ethan a gun and ignoring warning signs.
All three Crumbleys, along with leaders at Oxford High School, were sued Thursday by the parents of 16-year-old Tate Myre, one of the four kids killed in the shooting alongside Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17.
Six more students and a teacher were wounded in the gunfire.
“Our family will never be the same,” Tate’s father William said Thursday. “We’re not doing good. All we do is walk around the house and think about Tate. We think about him every day. We sit in his room. We listen to his playlist off Spotify. We’re not doing good, but we’re going to find a way to get through it together.”
The suit claims James and Jennifer Crumbley were intentionally and recklessly negligent in buying Ethan a gun and sending him to school, while administrators were negligent for not taking Ethan out of class after spotting his disturbing writing. The Myre family seeks at least $25,000 in damages.
The lawsuit is based in part on a reported behavioral meeting held on the day of the shooting with Ethan, his parents and school leaders. The administrators said Ethan should get immediate psychiatric therapy, but the Crumbleys refused and insisted he stay in school, according to the suit.
Jennifer Crumbley texted her son, writing, “Lol. I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught,” prosecutors have said.
At the meeting, administrators held Ethan’s backpack, but eventually turned it back over to him without searching it, the lawsuit claims. Ethan pulled a gun and ammunition from the backpack just hours later and began shooting, according to investigators.
Ethan is being held without bail in Oakland County Jail. His parents are each being held on $500,000 bond; they unsuccessfully lobbied to have that number reduced.
Oxford High School was closed for almost two months after the shooting, while students attended classes in other buildings. The school finally reopened Monday after renovations.
With News Wire Services
