The parents of a 15-year-old Michigan school shooter suspect, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have pled not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter after their son killed four using a gun one of them had bought.
Judge Julie Nicholson has agreed with the arguments of the prosecutor that both parents pose a flight risk and set a bond of $500,000 for each of them. The judge also ruled to have the Crumbleys wear GPS trackers, should they be released on bond.
The two attended a court hearing via Zoom after being caught hiding in a commercial building in Detroit. Their attorney insisted that they had fled the town "for their own safety" and were planning to return to face the charges. Detroit Police Chief James E. White, however, questioned the veracity of that statement.
"This isn’t indicative of turning yourself in — hiding in a warehouse", White said.
The couple was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, each in connection with the school shooting for which their 15-year-old son stands accused. They purchased the firearm used in the attack just days before the shooting and did not take seriously concerning reports from school staff about their son Ethan’s behaviour, Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said during a news conference earlier on Friday.
The Crumbleys resisted his removal from school after the reports and made the purchased firearm easily available to their son, thus purportedly contributing to his crime. Ethan himself was charged with murder, committing a terrorist attack, as well as with several counts of illegal firearms possession.
Four students at Oxford High School were killed and seven others injured in a shooting that took place on 30 November.