OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The parents of the teen accused of killing four students and injuring seven other people at Oxford High School have requested that their bond be lowered.
James Crumbley, 45, and Jennifer Crumbley, 43, are each facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 30 mass shooting. Officials said they gave their son Ethan Crumbley, 15, the semi-automatic handgun that was used in the high school shooting.
Defense for the couple argued that they didn’t think their son would be violent. The couple has been in jail, held separately and away from their son, for the last two and a half weeks on a $500,000 bond.
Defense attorney Shannon Smith said her clients didn’t anticipate or know that their son would commit violence and that the couple is devastated. Smith is asking the judge to lower the couple’s bond to $100,000 and request that they wear electronic monitors if they are released from jail.
Read: Parents of Oxford shooting suspect appear in court for first time since arraignments
The couple was arrested at a Detroit art studio on Dec. 4 after police searched the area. They are accused of giving their son a gun and not pulling him out of school when they were warned about troubling writings he had created before the shooting.
“The judge is allowed to consider a variety of factors, from the evidence in the case, that the judge is aware of, from history,” Legal expert Neil Rockind said. “There is almost no limit on what the judge can consider in deciding whether to alter or modify her bond decision that she set at the arraignment.”
Detectives said Jennifer Crumbley texted her son “don’t do it,” on the day of the shooting. Her attorney said Jennifer Crumbley was asking her son not to die by suicide once they realized the gun was missing from their home. In a court filing, attorneys for the couple said the couple did not expect that a shooting would happen or that their son would be responsible for a shooting.
Their next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 8, but a bond hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.
Read: Complete Oxford High School shooting coverage
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