Ethan Crumbley considered using Molotov cocktails in Oxford High school massacre
OAKLAND, MICHIGAN: Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old accused school shooter, was ordered by a Michigan judge to stay locked up in county jail after it was revealed that he considered using 'Molotov cocktails' during the Oxford High school massacre on November 30, last year, where he killed four students. Crumbley will be tried as an adult on charges of first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism, and gun counts in the school massacre.
Oakland County Circuit Judge, Kwame Rowe said on Tuesday that journal entries and text messages by Crumbley indicated the teen had previously made improvised incendiary weapons and weighed using the Molotov cocktails in the November school shooting. After taking everything into consideration, Judge Rowe denied the transfer of Crumbley to a juvenile detention center in Pontiac from Oakland County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
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According to a report by Detroit News, in a 12-page opinion letter, Rowe wrote, "The prior delinquent acts are of grave concerns to this court,” adding that Crumbley could not be safely detained at the juvenile detention center in Pontiac.
“[Prosecutors] alleged that defendant planned and executed a mass murder at Oxford High School.” Rowe’s opinion continued. “Allegedly, he killed four students and injured seven others. The alleged facts speak for themselves.”
(Photo by David Guralnick-Pool/Getty Images)
Last month, prosecutors revealed, Crumbley had texted his mother about demons and ghosts prior to the shooting of his classmates and had made Molotov cocktails at home. The teen pleaded not guilty in January and intends to pursue an insanity defense. He will be tried as an adult on charges of first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism, and gun counts in the school massacre. If convicted, he will face life imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Ethan's attorney had argued that a county jail was not the proper facility for the teen, who is being kept away from adult inmates. But Rowe noted that Ethan has managed to communicate with the public several times a day, including with emails he’s received from across the globe.
“I got a cell to myself, 3 meals a day, a TV to watch, and the guards are pretty nice,” Ethan wrote in one January 16 email, the Free Press reported. In another email, Ethan told a supporter their message had brightened his day and that photos of New York sent to him were what he imagined.
Rowe wrote, “There is nothing in the email exchanges that causes this court concern regarding [Ethan’s] current mental health. He is eating, reading books, playing video games, and talking to others.” A detailed hearing on Ethan is scheduled for March 24.
Prosecutors allege Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, gave the troubled teen the gun used in the attack as an early Christmas present. Attorneys for the Crumbleys claim they had no idea their son was planning on shooting up his school.
The couple, who have been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, were ordered by a judge last week to stand trial, making them the first parents in the US to go on trial for their alleged roles in a mass school shooting. They are currently being held on a $500,000 bond at the same facility as their son.