Appeals filed by Crumbleys' attorneys rejected by higher court

Lansing – The parents of accused Oxford High shooter Ethan Crumbley had an appeal of evidence in their related cases rejected Wednesday by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Attorneys for James and Jennifer Crumbley had filed with the appellate court seeking to have some evidence in the case against their clients found inadmissible and obtain a stay in the couple's pending Oakland Circuit Court case pending further appeal. They got neither.

Earlier this year, defense lawyers Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman had argued unsuccessfully before Oakland Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews that their clients should never have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in four deaths at the school on Nov. 30, when prosecutors say then-15-year-old Ethan fatally shot four students.  Matthews concluded there was sufficient evidence for them to face charges.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald took the rare step to charge the Crumbleys, saying they had committed gross negligence — they had purchased a handgun for their son a few days before the shooting and took him to a range to learn how to fire it and never properly secured the weapon. During a school meeting, when presented with school officials’ concerns about his behavior such as searching for ammunition on his phone and making violent drawings on his homework, the parents never told anyone about the existence of the handgun now believed to have been brought to school in his school backpack where it remained, uninspected during the meeting.

The parents refused school officials’ requests to remove their son from school and to seek psychiatric help for him — they both had to go to work they said — and a few hours later, the shooting occurred inside the school leaving four dead and seven other victims wounded.

The parents and their attorneys have repeatedly argued they had no reason to believe he presented a threat to himself or others. They had hoped to have the case against them dismissed.

“The delayed application for leave to appeal is denied for failure to persuade the Court of the need for immediate appellate review,” COA presiding judge Mark J. Cavanagh ruled in the Sept. 14 order.

“The motion for stay pending appeal is denied as moot,” Cavanagh wrote in the order.

The action means the appeals court found the trial court acted properly in the matter despite objections being raised by defense lawyers in their July 17 appeal to quash the prosecution of their clients.

Attorneys and the prosecution have all been placed under a gag order by Matthews not to discuss the case with the news media.

In court filings, the lawyers said the trial court erred and that premeditated murders committed by Ethan Crumbley had nothing to do with his parents and that the involuntary manslaughter charges as applied to them was unconstitutionally vague.

Defense lawyers said certain statements made by the teenager in his journal and text messages made to a friend months earlier amounted to hearsay and were irrelevant because they would prejudice a jury. The teenager complained of hallucinations and needing mental help but said his concerns were rebuffed by his parents. His mother felt he was using drugs and his father told him to "suck it up."

A pretrial hearing has been scheduled by Matthews for Oct. 28 where defense attorneys and the prosecution will argue the merits of evidence and expert testimony that by the parents' lifestyle and their neglect and indifference to his mental health they provided a toxic environment and a “pathway to violence.” That evidentiary hearing has necessitated that the trial for the Crumbleys, originally set for Oct. 24, will not take place until January. The date is still to be determined. If convicted of the charges, they face up to 15 years in prison.

Ethan Crumbley, who is facing multiple charges that carry life in prison, also has a January trial date. His parents’ attorneys have said they intend to call the teenager as a witness.

All three Crumbleys remain in the Oakland County Jail. The teenager is in isolation, segregated from adult prisoners.

mmartindale@detroitnews.com

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