There are further updates after the arrest of Jennifer Crumbley and James Crumbley after their arraignment on Saturday morning.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard gave another update during a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
The parents of reporter shooter, 15-year-old sophomore Ethan Crumbley, have been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
After a manhunt took place Friday night, the parents were located in a commercial building in Detroit, 40 miles south of Oxford, where they live. That afternoon, they had turned off their cell phones and withdrew $4,000 dollars from an ATM.
The police believe that they were “assisted” to that location and are looking into aiding and abetting or obstruction of justice charges for the person or people who let them into the commercial building. The investigation is ongoing and he would not comment further on the issue.
All three members of the Crumbley family are being held in Oakland County Jail and are being kept in isolation.
Sheriff Believes Ethan Crumbley ‘Does Not Know’ That His Parents Have Been Arrested
An Oakland County prosecutor says a teacher caught Ethan Crumbley searching ammunition on his cellphone during class, notified administrators, & contacted Crumbley’s parents. His mom wrote to his son, “LOL. I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.” pic.twitter.com/CUahR5w4Io
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 3, 2021
Sheriff Bouchard revealed that all three members of the family are being held in isolation and are not allowed to speak to each other. They are being checked on multiple times an hour although authorities did not uncover any prior mental health issues and their intake forms indicated that they had no interest or desire to hurt themselves.
When asked by reporters what Ethan’s demeanor was when he learned that his parents were arrested, Bouchard revealed that Ethan “hasn’t said anything to us.”
“He wouldn’t have been made aware that we were searching for his parents since he’s in isolation,” he added.
When asked if he knew that his parents were in custody, Bouchard replied, “I honestly couldn’t tell you. My guess is no. It’s not something we’d necessarily let him know.”
Superintendent Tim Throne Issues Statement On School Shooting
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Superintendent of Oxford High School Tim Throne commented on the shooting that took place in an almost 13-minute-long video released to the public on Thursday night.
In the video, he described the school as a “war zone” and said that it could be “weeks” before the building could be reopened.
He also mentioned a “video” of the shooter that he hoped police would release; however, sheriff Bouchard said that the video in question would not be made public. He said they have “extensive video” from what happened inside the school that will be entered into evidence. The video will be withheld from the public so as not to prejudice a potential jury pool.
Bouchard also answered questions about the possibility of school officials facing charges. Ethan’s parents had been called into the school the morning of the shooting due to an “alarming” drawing of a gun, a bullet, and a bleeding person. The drawing was altered by the time Ethan arrived for the meeting, and officials revealed that Ethan told a school counselor that it was a drawing of a video game idea.
He said that it was “up to the prosecutor” to determine if more criminal charges will be filed against school officials, although there was “no one person” that was under investigation.
Bouchard concluded by stating that there was “Clear evidence that this was premeditated” and alleged that Ethan “was looking forward to this [the shooting].”
When describing the detail of what deputies experienced inside the school, he stated that when two deputies came upon Ethan, he immediately surrendered and put his hands up.
“I’ll say this, you know, when you see most of these around the country, my opinion is, these people are evil and they’re cowards,” Bouchard said. “They typically usually either give up or commit suicide.”
