Prosecutor says school shooter’s parents knew son was troubled, did nothing

In yesterday’s post, I discussed how the parents of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley have requested a lower bond. James and Jennifer Crumbley are being held on $500,000 bond each on four counts each of involuntary manslaughter. One of the Crumbley’s attorneys asked that the bond be lowered to $100,000 each and both would wear an ankle monitor.

I expected the prosecution to fight this request, but holy hell, I didn’t expect Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald to thoroughly clean the floor with the Crumbleys.

In a court filing made yesterday, Ms. McDonald goes into intricate detail about how the Crumbleys allegedly failed their son, and it’s not a pretty picture. According to the filing, the Crumbleys knew their son was having mental health issues but ignored his problems. After his only friend moved away and their dog died, Ethan Crumbley was sending his parents disturbing texts about his mental state. Buying him a gun at this point may be the most negligent thing I’ve ever heard of a parent doing. Did they want him to kill himself, or are they the type of responsible gun owners who think a gun will fix anything?

Even more disturbing is that prosecutors believe that Ethan Crumbley was torturing animals.

“Their son was torturing animals, even kept a baby bird’s head in a jar on his bedroom floor, which he later took and placed in a school bathroom,” the prosecutor’s filing states.

So if he didn’t commit a school shooting, without any kind of intervention, he likely would have been a serial killer.

The prosecution also alleges that while Ethan was struggling with depression and violent thoughts, his parents were too involved in their own personal lives to care about their son. The Crumbleys are said to have spent three to four nights a week at a barn taking care of their horses. Mrs. Crumbley was said to be having an affair, and both Crumbleys are said to have admitted having substance abuse issues.

Speaking of Mrs. Crumbley’s affair, she allegedly told her boyfriend that the gun was in her car when it was actually in Ethan’s backpack. I’m not exactly sure the context of this allegation, but I imagine the boyfriend was asked by police about Jennifer Crumbley’s statements after the school meeting took place.

And speaking of the school meeting where the Crumbleys are said to have ignored even more red flags, the drawings made by Ethan Crumbley have been made public. As mentioned previously, Ethan drew a gun with words ‘blood everywhere’ and ‘the thoughts won’t stop. Help me’. After the teacher took a picture of the drawings, Ethan Crumbley tried to alter the picture to make it seem less troubling. He didn’t do a good job of that.

At this point, I don’t think the Crumbleys could be any more responsible for this shooting unless they put the gun in Ethan’s hands and pointed him toward the school.

Source: Prosecutor: Oxford school shooting suspect’s mom had affair while son spiraled