Ethan Crumbley's parents need to stop 'inappropriate' courtroom antics: prosecutors

Prosecutors have asked a judge to put a stop to ‘inappropriate’ and ‘disrespectful’ displays of affection in the courtroom between James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of accused Michigan high school shooter Ethan Crumbley. 

James, 45, and Jennifer Crumbley, 43, have been blowing kisses and mouthing ‘I love you’ to each other during hearings – and the prosecution in the case and the families of the school shooting victims, have had enough, according to a court filing obtained by the Detroit Free Press.  

‘Mr. & Mrs. Crumbley’s conduct in court makes a mockery of the crimes they are accused of committing,’ Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said in a statement Wednesday. ‘The courtroom is not a place for blowing kisses and sending secret signals. This is a time for families to pursue justice.’ 

The Crumbleys are charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly allowing their son access to the gun police said was used in the November shooting at Oxford High School.   

Ethan Crumbley, 15, is facing terrorism and murder charges for his alleged role in the shooting that killed four students and injured several others.  Last week, the teen’s attorney said he plans to plead insanity. 

‘These communications … not only disparage the integrity of the judicial proceedings as a serious distraction, but are also traumatic for the families of the deceased victims,’ Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Markeisha Washington wrote in the filing. ‘Their communication is far more distracting and offensive than a cell phone going off, which the court would not condone.’ 

The prosecution’s request filed on Wednesday for Ethan’s parent to end their courtroom antics comes after several of the prosecutors were contacted by family members of the victims, asking why the parents are allowed to communicate in court.  

During one hearing in December, James Crumbley ‘with his mask partially pulled down, mouthed what appeared to be ‘I love you’ to his wife, according to the filing.

At that same hearing, when Crumbley left the courtroom, it led to ‘additional nonverbal communication’ between the couple.

At a January 7 court hearing on Zoom, when a breakout session with the attorneys and the judge was held, the Crumbleys ‘remained on screen during this breakout session and … Jennifer Crumbley signaled and mouthed to (her husband) what appeared to be ‘I love you,’ waved at him, and continued to signal and mouth words to him.’

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald wants a judge to prohibit the Crumbleys from any contact, physical, verbal or nonverbal contact, during proceedings. 

In the filing, they said the defense ‘expressed a willingness’ to get the Crumbleys to comply, the Detroit Free Press reported. 

Hours before the school shooting begun, the Crumbleys were called to the school to discuss Ethan’s disturbing behavior including drawings depicting a gun, a bullet, blood everywhere, a shooting victim and a laughing emoji.

The note included the words: ‘Thoughts won’t stop, help me’; ‘my life is useless’ and ‘the world is dead,’ Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said. After the meeting, the Crumbleys left their son to finish the day at school when he opened fire on his classmates and teachers.

‘They did not intervene. They did not schedule therapy,’ Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast previously said in court.

‘Instead, they bought him what he desperately wanted, a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun.’

James and Jennifer Crumbley were arrested on December 4 after they were found hiding in a Detroit art studio. 

The pair failed to show up for their arraignment and stopped communicating with their attorneys which sparked a manhunt search for them.

They went on the lam for two days, December 3 and 4, and withdrew $3,000 from their son’s bank account after his arrest as they planned to run away to Florida.  

Prosecutor Karen McDonald successfully argued in January that the bond should remain at $500,000 for each of them because of their lack of ties to the state of Michigan and their plans to flee the area just hours following their son’s arrest.

McDonald said James, who worked as a Doordash delivery driver and Jennifer, who had been terminated by her employer, both had families in Florida and started making plans to move there immediately after the shooting.

‘On November 30, just hours after their son murdered children in a school, they started making plans.,’ McDonald told the court.

She added that they started making plans to sell horses once they were in Florida and bought four cellphones. They had also drained their son’s bank account of $3,000, leaving only 99 cents.

On December 1, the couple checked into a different hotel where they made contact with discussion of the sale of their horses and withdrew $2,000 from their bank. They then checked out of the hotel, leaving one of their cars behind but parked so that the license plate could not be easily seen.

McDonald said they drove to the art studio in Detroit the same day where they were captured and taken into custody after leading authorities on a large-scale manhunt.

Both Crumbleys have pleaded not guilty to all four charges of involuntary manslaughter – one for each student killed. Each count is punishable by up to 15 years in prison along with a $7,500 fine and mandatory DNA testing.