Oxford School Shooter Allegedly Tortured Animals, Kept Bird's Head In Jar

On Thursday, new information was revealed about the Oxford School Shooter.

On November 30, 15-year-old sophomore Ethan Crumbley was taken into custody after stepping out of a bathroom and killing four students with a 9mm Sig Sauer semi-automatic handgun, which his parents had purchased for him on Black Friday. Social media posts from his mother, Jennifer Crumbley, indicated that it had been a Christmas present for her son and she had taken him shooting the weekend before the incident.

She and her husband, James Crumbley, have each been charged with involuntary manslaughter. After they failed to show for their arraignment, they were found after a short manhunt that led to them being found in an art studio that belonged to a friend they had met through a ski club. On Wednesday, attorneys for the couple argued that their bond – which is currently being held at $500,000 after the manhunt – should be lowered to $100,000.

On Thursday, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald offered a chilling statement revealing that they knew their son “needed help” long before the shooting on November 30.

Six months before the shooting occurred, Ethan reportedly suffered a string of tragic events: his only friend moved away, the family dog passed away, and he allegedly sent his mother “disturbing texts about his state of mind,” according to the court filing on Thursday.

“Instead of paying attention to their son and getting him help, they bought him a gun,” the prosecution wrote.

“ ... they knew that their son was depressed, that he was fascinated with guns ...  that he had been researching ammunition while at a school and that he was seen watching violent videos of shootings that morning,” the prosecution continued.

The parents were summoned to school that morning to discuss a violent drawing Ethan drew that contained a picture of a gun, a bullet, and a bleeding figure. Ethan reportedly told school counselors that it was an idea for a video game concept he had, and his parents “resisted” taking him out of school. No one questioned if Ethan had the firearm on him, which – according to the prosecution – was kept in an unlocked drawer in his parent’s bedroom.

The reports made by the prosecution became all the more disturbing when they revealed that James and Jennifer Crumbley knew that their son was torturing animals and even kept a bird’s head in his bedroom for an undisclosed amount of time.

“Their son was torturing animals, even kept a baby bird's head in a jar on his bedroom floor, which he later took and placed in a school bathroom,” the prosecutor wrote. “Meanwhile, the parents were focusing on their own issues, things like extramarital affairs, financial issues, and substance abuse.”

It was stated that in the few months prior to the shooting, his parents were “seeking other relationships, including (the) mother’s extramarital affairs.”

The prosecution also points out that Jennifer Crumbley had given several contradictory statements about the location of the gun on the day of question. She had allegedly told “her boyfriend” that the gun was in her car. However, it was her husband who noticed the gun missing from their bedroom drawer and called 911 on the day of the shooting.

Although defense lawyers insist that the Crumbley’s are not a flight risk, the prosecution insists that they are “a greater risk of flight now” because they no longer have a home to go back to. They were allegedly $11,000 dollars behind on their house payments after their arraignment and their house is currently for sale.