James and Jennifer Crumbley broke into tears as charges against them were read out during their arraignment.
On Saturday morning, at around 9:30 am, the parents of school shooter Ethan Crumbley attended their online arraignment from separate rooms shortly after they were arrested near the border with Canada where they were hiding in a basement of a Detroit building.
Both James and Jennifer have been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter – one for each student who died at the hands of their son, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, after the boy shot them with his dad’s new gun.
As Judge Julie Nicholson announced the charges against Jennifer, the 43-year-old mother broke into tears and began sobbing along with her husband. She pleaded not guilty to all four counts.
The judge then went on to arraign 45-year-old James who also pleaded not guilty to all four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
During the arraignment, prosecutor Karen McDonald insisted that the Crumbleys “could have stopped” the mass shooting and that they “had every reason to know he [Ethan] was dangerous.”
These accusations come after it was revealed that Ethan’s parents insisted he was allowed to resume his classes even after his teachers found a disturbing note featuring a gun, a bullet, and a person getting killed on his desk. Just hours later, the teenager shot and killed four students.
Fighting back against the claims that the parents could have prevented the disaster were the Crumbleys’ attorneys, Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman.
Both lawyers insisted that the couple didn’t attempt to flee after they were charged and that it was “absolutely not true” that their son had “free access” to his father’s gun.
Following the arraignment, the couple remained in Oakland County Jail where they were booked following their arrest.
Their bail has been set at $500,000 each, whereas the judge confirmed that both James’ as well as Jennifer’s bond should be paid in full. Should they make bail, both of them will also be obliged to wear GPS trackers.
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