A Michigan judge on Tuesday rejected an accused school shooter’s plea to be moved to a juvenile detention facility, as he revealed new details about the teenager’s sordid thoughts.
Ethan Crumbley, 15, has been detained at the Oakland County Jail, an adult prison facility, since he was arrested on November 30 for allegedly opening fire at Oxford High School and killing four people. Seven others were injured in the attack.
Initially, the Detroit News reports, Crumbley was placed on suicide watch with constant supervision in an isolated cell at the Oakland County Jail, but in January, Crumbley was reduced to behavior watch, which requires monitoring every 15 minutes.
On Tuesday, Oakland County Circuit Judge Kwame Rowe ruled that it would be ‘in the interest of justice’ for Crumbley to remain at the Oakland County Jail, noting that Crumbley does not actually appear to be suffering from isolation and has been ‘actively communicating with members of the public – several times a day.’
Rowe explained in his 12-page decision that Crumbley has been receiving letters from supporters all over the world since his arrest, including one on January 16 when Crumbley said ‘I got a cell to myself, three meals a day, a TV to watch and the guards are pretty nice,’ according to the Detroit Free Press.
In another, Crumbley reportedly tells a supporter that their mail ‘brightens’ his day, and that the ‘photos of New York are what he imagined.
‘There is nothing in the email exchanges that causes this court concern regarding [Ethan’s current mental health,’ Rowe wrote. ‘He is eating, reading books, playing video games and talking to others.’
Crumbley is facing 24 felony charges, including terrorism and first-degree murder charges, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty.
Ethan Crumbley, pictured in court on February 22, will remain at the Oakland County Jail
Judge Kwame Rowe wrote in a decision Tuesday that Crumbley does not actually appear to be suffering from isolation at the prison and has been ‘actively communicating with members of the public – several times a day’
Crumbley, 15, has been detained at the Oakland County Jail, an adult prison facility, since he was arrested on November 30
But in his decision not to move the teenager to a juvenile facility, Rowe said he placed ‘great weight’ on text messages and journal entries showing that Crumbley had made Molotov cocktails, which he contemplated using during the school shooting.
Rowe also noted that Crumbley had once started a small fire in the woods, and that he killed eight baby birds ‘by slowly torturing them,’ saying he watched a video of Crumbley torturing one of the baby birds to death.
He said that these ‘prior delinquent acts are of grave concerns to this court.
‘This court cannot find that the juvenile would be safely detained at Children’s Village,’ Rowe wrote of the juvenile detention facility Crumbley’s lawyers petitioned him to be transferred to.
‘It is clear that Children’s Village is incapable of safely housing the defendant because of the unique circumstances this case presents,’ he continued, saying the details of Crumbley’s alleged crimes are especially noteworthy.
‘The nature and circumstances of the alleged offense are extremely troubling and disturbing. The [prosecution] alleged that defendant planned and executed a mass murder at Oxford High School.
‘Allegedly, he killed four students and injured seven others.
‘The alleged facts speak for themselves.’
Crumbley is accused of opening fire on November 30 at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan, and killing four people while injuring seven others
Parents were pictured walking home with their children following the shooting
Among those who died in the shooting were Justin Shilling, left, who succumbed to his wounds at a local hospital, and Tate Myre, who died at the school while trying to protect others
Madisyn Baldwin, 17, (left) and Hana St Juliana, 14, (right) also died in the shooting rampage at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit
Rowe’s decision comes just one week after Crumbley’s defense attorneys had argued that an adult jail is no place for a teenager, and his mental health is suffering as he is locked up in isolation.
‘This extreme isolation is actually not beneficial whatsoever and actually harms Mr. Crumbley,’ they argued, according to Click on Detroit. ‘It is essentially a cement cell with a glass door, and because the rule is that he has to be out of sight and sound from adults, he has very little interaction with anyone.’
But prosecutors argued Crumbley would be a ‘menace’ to the other juveniles at the Children’s Village, pointing to a text between Crumbley and one of his friends in which he ‘outlined a plan to stalk, rape, torture and ultimately kill a female classmate.
‘He expressed delight in torturing a family of baby birds, and he wrote about the joy he received in listening to them squeal as he killed them,’ assistant prosecutor Marc Keast said.
‘He spoke of his admiration of Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer specifically stating: “When you die you need to be remembered for a long time, doing something that will make people think of you until the time ends.”‘
‘To place this defendant with other at-risk juveniles who are presumably the same age as his victim would be contradictory to the rehabilitation of those at Children’s Village and pose a potential risk of harm to their safety,’ he argued.
Inmate caseworker Christine Belling also testified that she visited Crumbley for five to 10 minutes a day to assess his mental health concerns, and found none.
She said she continues to see Crumbley twice a week, brought him Harry Potter books to read, and makes sure he has access to a psychiatrist, according to the Detroit News.
Crumbley is now due back in court on March 24 for a review hearing on his placement.
Ethan’s parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley were ordered last week to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges as prosecutors claim they were aware of their son’s mental health problems but failed to address them
His parents, meanwhile, were ordered last week to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.
Rochester Hills District Court Judge Julie Nicholson announced on Thursday that following a two-day preliminary examination for Jennifer and James Crumbley, she found enough evidence to send their case to circuit court.
‘If they had exercised reasonable care for their son, Hana, Tate, Madison, and Justin would still be here,’ Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said, referring to the four slain Oxford High School students. ‘It was a direct result of this gross negligence.’
The Crumbleys’ attorneys insisted the couple didn’t know their son was planning the fatal attack at Oxford High School on November 30 that left four dead. They added that the couple didn’t make the gun easy to find in their home.
But prosecutors told the court how the Crumbleys ignored their son’s pleas for help when he told them he was seeing demons and hearing voices.
And when the teen asked his father to take him to a therapist, James told him to ‘suck it up’ and gave him some pills, while Jennifer laughed at him, prosecutors said.
The Crumbleys are also accused of failing to intervene when Ethan showed signs of mental distress at home and at school, including talking about seeing ghosts, torturing birds and detailing a plan in his journal to rape and kill a female classmate.
In one text, Keast pointed out, Ethan wrote that Jennifer thought he was taking drugs, “Like she thinks the reason why I’m so mad and sad all the time is because I take drugs, and she doesn’t worry about my mental health.
‘And then he writes: “they make me feel like I’m the problem.
“My mom makes everyone feel like a piece of s***. I actually asked my dad to take me to the doctor the other day, and he just gave me some pills and said to “suck it up.” My mom laughed when I told her,”‘ Keast read in court.
Prosecutors also pointed out that just one day before the fatal shooting, Oxford High School officials left Jennifer a voicemail informing her that a teacher was concerned that Ethan had searched for ammunition online using his phone.
A sheriff’s office computer crimes investigator testified during the first day of the couple’s preliminary examination on February 8 that Jennifer later asked her son in a text if he ‘at least’ showed school officials a photo of the gun the parents gave Ethan as an early Christmas gift.
Then, on the morning of the shooting, Ethan’s parents were summoned to the school and confronted with his drawings, which included a handgun, a bullet, a bloodied human figure and the words: ‘the thoughts won’t stop. Help me.’ Authorities said the parents refused to take him home after the 13-minute meeting and were told to get him counseling.
The Crumbleys are jailed on $500,000 bond. The case against them is highly unusual because parents are rarely held criminally responsible for teens accused in mass school shootings.
The Crumbleys’ attorneys have insisted the couple didn’t know their son was homicidal and might be planning an attack, and didn’t make the gun easy to find in their home.
Last month, Ethan’s attorneys filed a notice of an insanity defense, and are now reportedly planning to attack his parents in their defense – alleging that they knew Ethan was suffering with mental illness, but did nothing about it.
