Teen killer Ethan Crumbley sports long hair and glasses as he pleads guilty to shooting 4 classmates
DETROIT, MICHIGAN: In connection with a high school shooting in 2021 that left four of his classmates dead and more than a dozen others injured, a Michigan student entered a guilty plea to murder and terrorism charges on October 24, 2022. Ethan Crumbley, 16, opened fire at Oxford High School, north of Detroit on November 30, 2021, with a semi-automatic weapon his father gave him as a Christmas present just days before the shooting,
Crumbley's admission of guilt comes after two school employees -- Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak and counselor Shawn Hopkins -- were fired for failing to send Crumbley home after speaking with him and his parents about unsettling drawings he had drawn on the day of the shooting, according to Daily Mail. Due to the no-plea deal with Crumbley, there won't be a trial, the prosecution informed the court. Crumbley will reportedly be sentenced as an adult to life in prison without the possibility of release. On February 9, 2023, there will be a potential sentencing hearing. Six other students and a teacher were injured, along with two females and two boys who were both 17 years old. A total of 24 charges, including one act of terrorism causing death and four counts of first-degree murder, were brought against Crumbley who was 15 years old at the time of the shooting.
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Twelve counts of having a firearm while committing a crime and seven counts of assault with the intent to kill were also brought against Crumbley who entered a guilty plea in Oakland County Circuit Court.
"Ethan Crumbley's guilty plea is one small step forward on a long path towards obtaining full justice for our clients. We will continue to fight until the truth is revealed about what went wrong leading up to this tragedy," Ven Johnson, a lawyer representing several families of the victims, said in a statement.
Crumbley wore an orange jumpsuit and a white mask covering his mouth and nose during the hearing. He responded with a "yes" to a series of questions while seated at the podium. On Monday, October 24, 2022, Crumbley's attorneys withdrew a notice they had earlier submitted to the court, claiming the defendant was insane.
James and Jennifer Crumbley, Crumbley's parents, are accused of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting. Despite indications that their son was a "troubled young man," they had bought a firearm for him, Rochester District Court Judge Julie Nicholson stated. The case appears to be the first in which an adolescent school shooter's parents have been accused of crimes that were committed by their child. They have entered a not-guilty plea.
James Crumbley purchased a 9mm handgun as Ethan Crumbley accompanied his father to a gun store just four days before the shooting, according to the prosecution. Ejak and Hopkins were expelled from the school after they were mentioned in a complaint that claimed the school district had violated the children's constitutional rights to safety by failing to take appropriate action against Crumbley after he displayed extremely unsettling conduct on the day of the shooting.
The county prosecutor claimed that Ejak and Hopkins spoke with Crumbley's parents about the frightening drawings he had done just hours before going on a shooting spree. The drawings, according to Crumbley, were for a computer game, therefore his parents allegedly refused to let him go. Moreover, according to the lawsuit filed against the district, Ejak was in possession of Crumbley's rucksack, which contained a handgun and 48 rounds of ammunition.