Crumbley’s Attorney Claims He Is NOT A Danger To His Peers, Despite Killing Four

The alleged Oxford High School shooter, 15-year-old sophomore Ethan Crumbley, will not be moved into a youth facility.

He is currently being held at Oakland County Jail in isolation, along with his parents. It is unclear at this time if he knows that his parents were arrested for their role in the fatal shooting that took the lives of four students on Tuesday, November 30, 2021.

Crumbley, who has been charged as an adult, is facing 24 felony charges: one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree premeditated murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and 12 counts of felony firearm. If convicted, he could face a lifetime in prison without the possibility of parole.

On Monday, December 13, Crumbley’s attorney, Paulette Loftin, asked for Crumbley to be moved from the Oakland County Jail to the Children’s Village facility in Pontiac. She argued that Crumbley does not pose a danger to other children.

"I honestly do not believe my client should be considered a menace to other juveniles," Loftin said during a brief hearing. “He doesn’t have a history of assaulting kids his age. This one isolated incident is all that we’re looking at today.”

Crumbley’s appointed guardian, Deborah McKelvy, also supported the decision to move Crumbley to a youth facility.

"His charges are not unique, and there have other children at the Village charged with this offense," McKelvy said. "I'm not being humorous by saying this, but he could still be in school. There are many things he can't get at the jail."

However, Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast insisted that Crumbley committed “mass murder,” adding, “This was premeditated; it was planned. The defendant didn't just attack other individuals — he targeted juveniles."

Judge Nancy Carniak denied the request. “I still feel strongly that his conduct could be a menace to other juveniles,” she said. “I think his placement is appropriate.”

Crumbley’s probable cause hearing has been delayed until January 2022.

Both of Ethan Crumbley’s parents, James Crumbley and Jennifer Crumbley, are each being charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter after the prosecution alleged that they failed to secure the weapon in their home. Social media posts only days before the incident allege that the gun used in the shooting was intended as a Christmas present for their son.

On December 14, they are due in 52/3 District Court for a probable cause hearing with Judge Julie Nicholson. Both Crumbley parents are being held on $500,000 dollar bonds after they failed to show for their arraignment on Friday, December 3. Instead, they withdrew $4,000 dollars from their bank account and went into hiding in an art studio owned by a friend. They were later discovered by police after a manhunt that included the U.S. Marshals and the FBI.

The Crumbley couple is being represented by high-profile attorney Shannon Smith, who previously represented convicted rapist and former USA Gymnastics Coach Larry Nassar.

The four Oxford High School students killed in the shooting were Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six of the seven survivors have since been discharged from the hospital, and the last student still hospitalized was moved out of the intensive care unit last Thursday.