Judge denies motion to reduce bond for Crumbleys, parents of Michigan school shooter

A lower court judge denied a similar motion in January.

April 19, 2022, 11:56 AM

The parents of the accused Michigan school shooter were denied a request to reduce their bond on Tuesday.

Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews said the events leading to the arrest of Jennifer and James Crumbley make the bond currently set appropriate, as their actions were "premeditated to conceal their whereabouts."

The two are charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter after allegedly failing to recognize warning signs about their son in the months before their son allegedly shot and killed four of his classmates at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021.

Prosecutors have accused the parents of giving their son a gun that was later used in the school shooting and allege the parents hid in an abandoned warehouse in Detroit and had concealed their car by hiding their license plates instead of turning themselves in the day they were charged.

Their son, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, is facing 24 counts, including four counts of murder and a terrorism charge

PHOTO: Jennifer Crumbley and her husband James Crumbley, parents of the alleged teen Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, appear for their pretrial hearing with defense attorney Mariell Lehman, center, March 22, 2022, in Pontiac, Mich.
Jennifer Crumbley and her husband James Crumbley, parents of the alleged teen Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, appear in 6th Circuit Court for their pretrial hearing with James Crumbley's defense attorney Mariell Lehman, center, March 22, 2022, in Pontiac, Mich.. Both parents are being charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, FILE

A judge ruled that Ethan Crumbley must remain in adult jail. His lawyers said in January they will claim an insanity defense. He is being held in isolation, under behavior watch, and must be checked on every 15 minutes.

The Crumbleys' bond is set at $500,000 each, which they were attempting to get reduced to $100,000 each.

A lower court denied a similar motion to reduce their bond in January.

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