James and Jennifer Crumbley return to court Thursday for second day of preliminary exam
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - More evidence will be presented on Thursday against James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of alleged Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley.
Thursday is the second court date for the Crumbleys' preliminary exam and we're expected to get more of an idea of what evidence the prosecution will use in the case.
The last time the Crumbley parents were in court, text messages between Ethan and Jennifer were read and discussed, including concerning messages that prosecutors said she ignored. Those exact messages were read during the hearing. Here's a recap of what was discussed.
The Crumbley parents were also ordered during that hearing to stop sending non-verbal messages to each other. This order came after the Oakland County Prosecutor requested the court order them to stop communicating. The Crumbleys attorneys said they were not intentionally sending displays of affection to hurt families of the victims and "didn't even know they were being broadcast". The defense agreed that the two would cease communication in court.
Prosecutor Karen McDonald had called their actions "a serious distraction" and "traumatic for the family members" of the victims involved in the shooting.
RELATED: Recapping day one of James and Jennifer Crumbley's preliminary hearing
Thursday's hearing also comes just two days after their son, Ethan, was in court. That court hearing was in regard to whether the Oakland County Jail is the proper place for the 15-year-old. James and Jennifer are also housed in the jail but do not have access to Ethan.
RELATED: Ethan Crumbley ‘adored’ Hitler, tortured animals, and wanted to ‘explore his darkness’; prosecutors
Due to Ethan's age, he's segregated from the adult population.
That segregation issue was the topic of the hearing, which is mandated by state law: minors in adult custody must have a hearing each month to determine if the adult facility is still the appropriate place for them.
During Tuesday's hearing, it was revealed that Ethan has access to a tablet for educational and communication purposes plus a commissary for personal items including toiletries. His defense team argued that he would get more appropriate access to education at Children's Village.
Judge Kwame Rowe is expected to rule early next week on Ethan's placement.
Read more about the hearing from Tuesday on this page.
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What is a preliminary exam?
A preliminary exam is when a judge will hear evidence presented by the prosecution. This includes documents, physical evidence, and witness testimony.
The prosecution presents the evidence but, according to FOX 2's Charlie Langton, this is actually a hearing that's used by the defense to find out what evidence the prosecution has and how well the witnesses will testify at trial, assuming it goes to trial.
MORE: Ethan Crumbley waives preliminary hearing, heading to trial
The judge then decides what evidence will be allowed and if the suspects are bound over for trial.
Most cases are bound over and Langton said he fully expects James and Jennifer to be sent to trial.
What are James and Jennifer Crumbley charged with?
The parents of Ethan Crumbley were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter days after their son was arrested for allegedly shooting several people at Oxford High School on Nov. 30. Four students died in the shooting and 7 others were seriously hurt.
The parents were both found early in the morning on Dec. 4 inside of art studio in Detroit, one day after they were supposed to have turned themselves in to the Oakland County Sheriff.
RELATED: Ethan Crumbley's parents drained son's bank account, prosecutor says
After their arrest, they each were ordered held on a $500,000 bond. Their defense attorneys argued for a reduction in bond to $100,000, but it was rejected.
The judge in the case ruled that the parents were flight risks, citing their actions on the day they were charged with involuntary manslaughter.
What happened after the Oxford High School shooting?
During the most recent court hearing, the Crumbley parents were accused of draining their son's bank account after the shooting, among other actions.
"On Nov. 30, just hours after their son murdered children in a school, they started making plans." McDonald said.
McDonald said they stated making plans to sell horses and then bought four cell phones.
The day of the shooting, she said they also drained Ethan's bank account of $3,000, leaving only $0.99.
The next day, Dec. 1, they checked into a different hotel where more contacts were made discussing the sale of their horses and withdrew $2,000 from their bank and then checked out of the hotel they were staying in, leaving one of their cars behind but parked so that the license plate could not be easily seen.
That's the day McDonald said they drove to the art studio in Detroit and never left except to smoke and to move the car so that the plate was not easily visible. While in the building, they texted with the owner that they needed provisions including socks and bedding items.
Meanwhile, their attorneys said that they believed the Crumbleys wouldn't have paid them if they had planned to run.
While inside the building, the doors were locked, even as police arrived and announced that they were there. They were found crouched behind a locked down where police took them into custody on Dec. 4.
When they were arrested, McDonald said they had Jennifer's social security card, more than a dozen credit and gift cards, cell phones, and $6,600 in cash.
"Your honor, these are not the actions of individuals who wanted to turn themselves in. They had knowledge of the pending charges based on their text messages and what did they do? They didn't go across the street,. There was a police station across the street from their hotel. There was nothing preventing them from staying right there," McDonald said.
The Oxford High School shooting
Ethan's alleged rampage began in the early afternoon of Nov. 30, shortly following a meeting between himself, his parents, and a school counselor that had received a report of disturbing drawings made by the teenager.
The suspected firearm that Ethan used in the shooting had been purchased as part of Black Friday sale days before Nov. 30. According to Prosecutor Karen McDonald, the firearm - a semiautomatic 9-millimeter Sig Sauer handgun - James Crumbley had bought the gun on Nov. 26.
A store employee confirmed with the prosecution that Ethan was present at the time of the purchase.
Prior to that purchase, a teacher at Oxford High School had alerted the district that she saw Ethan searching for ammunition on his cell phone. On the day of the shooting, a separate teacher came across a note on Ethan's desk with a drawing of a semi-automatic handgun pointing at the words "the thoughts won't stop, help me."
In another part of the note, the words above a bullet read "blood everywhere."
In the weeks that followed, McDonald would release more evidence of Ethan's drawings. They offer a window into the shooter's mental state at the time.
Ethan Crumbley charged as an adult
The day after the tragedy, Ethan was charged as an adult on 24 counts, including first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism, and possession of a firearm. His attorney entered a not guilty plea during his arraignment.
MORE: Prosecutor 'doesn't have words' after watching Oxford High School video
Ethan was ordered to be held without bond.
He was also assigned his own defense counsel: Paulette Michel Loftin.
While the murder charges track with similar cases of mass shooters, the count alleging terrorism is a novel approach made possible by a law enacted after 9/11.
The state’s 2002 anti-terrorism law defines a terroristic act as one intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or to affect the conduct of a government through intimidation or coercion.
McDonald admitted that it wasn't a "typical charge" for the crime. But "what about all the children who ran, screaming, hiding under desks? What about all the children at home right now, who can’t eat and can’t sleep and can’t imagine a world where they could ever step foot back in that school? Those are victims, too, and so are their families and so is the community. The charge of terrorism reflects that."
James and Jennifer Crumbley charged
Ethan's parents were both charged two days later, on Friday Dec. 3, with 4 counts of involuntary manslaughter each.
"The parents were the only individuals in the position to know the access to weapons," McDonald said at the time. The gun "seems to have been just freely available to that individual."
RELATED: 'Ethan don't do it': Parents of Oxford High School suspect sent messages during shooting
The Crumbleys were expected to turn themselves in on the charges and their attorneys said that day that they were returning to area after a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) was issued.
"The Crumbleys left town on the night of the tragic shooting for their own safety. They are returning to the area to be arraigned. They are not fleeing from law enforcement despite recent comments in media reports," the attorneys said in a statement.
Crumbley parents found in Detroit art studio
Around 4 p.m. on that Friday, a statewide BOLO was issued for the Crumbleys, who were supposed to turn themselves in with their attorney that day but authorities said they stopped communicating and cooperating with their attorney and went the run.
Throughout the afternoon and evening, the Crumbley parents were wanted by the Oakland County Sheriff. Authorities from the entire state and the United States Federal Marshals Service all participated in the search for the Crumbleys
Late that Friday night, Detroit Police Chief James White said they received a tip about the Crumbleys and their vehicle on the city's east side. They were found in the basement of an art studio at 1111 Bellevue Street.
White said they didn't break in and were let in by the owner of the studio. No charges have been presented against the owner of the studio.
White said "They appeared to be hiding" in the building before being arrested.
Later that same day, the Crumbley parents were formally arraigned on the manslaughter charges and ordered held on a $500,000 bond.