James and Jennifer Crumbley were both arrested Dec. 4 after they failed to pay a $500,000 bond. They hope a judge will reduce the bond to $100,000 on Friday.
The Crumbleys were charged with involuntary murder for the shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, which resulted in the deaths of four teens and injured many others. The Crumbleys are accused of making son Ethan Crumbley a gun and refusing to let him go home that day, when school counselors confronted him with distressing drawings of violence.
Mariell Lehman and Shannon Smith, defense attorneys, stated in court filing that “the last thing they anticipated was that a school shooting would occur”
Separately, Ethan (15 years old) will also be appearing in court on Friday. He is being charged as an adult for murder and other offenses.
The parents are requesting a lower bond. Prosecutors oppose this request. They pointed out that the older Crumbleys had been missing for several hours before charges were filed on Dec. 3. Police found them miles away at a Detroit art studio in the early morning of the next day.
Smith stated that they had intended to appear before the court Dec. 4.
Prosecutors stated that the Crumbleys would “flee if given the chance”, citing their mortgage debt and having put their home up for sale.
Students at Oxford High are expected to return next week to school for the first time since the shooting, but in a different building. The high school is located approximately 30 miles (50 km) north of Detroit and could reopen in the week of January 23.
