The parents of the alleged Oxford school shooter, Ethan Crumbley, appeared in a court hearing where testimonies centered around demons, guns, infidelity, and voices.
A judge in the U.S. state of Michigan began a preliminary hearing on Tuesday to decide whether or not prosecutors had sufficient evidence to charge the teenager's parents with involuntary manslaughter. Ethan is accused of killing four students at his high school using his father's gun.
Hearing of Teenage Shooter's Parents
The parents of the alleged shooter, identified as James and Jennifer Crumbley, have pleaded not guilty to the charges. They are accused of buying their 15-year-old son the gun that he used to shoot other students at his high school on Nov. 30, 2021.
Prosecutors claim that the couple ignored signs of their son having violent thoughts as late as the day Ethan conducted the shooting. During the hearing, Judge Julie Nicholson of the Rochester District was responsible for determining whether or not the couple would be put on trial.
There are 16 potential witnesses that could be called to testify at the hearing to describe their interactions with the Crumbley family and what they knew about the parents of the teenager. Shootings in the United States have surged and pushed the Oxford shooting to national scrutiny, Aljazeera reported.
Oakland County Sheriff's Detective Edward Wagrowski reviewed photographs, videos, call logs, and messages taken from the Crumbleys' phones. Furthermore, officials analyzed social media posts, school surveillance videos, and 911 calls connected to the shooting investigation.
In a text message to an unidentified person on Aug. 20, 2021, Ethan said that it was "time to shoot up the school." However, the 15-year-old quickly followed up his text with multiple instances of "j/k," which Wagrowski noted stood for "just kidding."
Mlive reported that Ethan's messages were followed by a video that showed a hand holding a gun, footage that was played in court. The teenager was found to have texted that his father left out a gun and thought that he would use it. Wagrowski refused to name the recipient of the tests but noted that it was a juvenile.
Mental Stress
Officials said that as early as March, the teenager indicated that he may have been experiencing paranoid thoughts. He repeatedly asked his mother to come home, saying there was someone else inside the family's house. Another instance was when Ethan messaged his mother, saying that their home was haunted and that there was a "demon" inside.
On the other hand, Jennifer, who worked as a marketing director at a real estate company, was more worried about her job the day his son shot other students. It was found that shortly after learning of Ethan's actions, his mother texted her boss and said that she needed the job. She pleaded for Andrew Smith not to judge her based on her son's actions.
Smith said that his employee's message took him by surprise and said that he thought the mother of the 15-year-old would have been more worried about the shooting in her son's school, as per CNN.
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