James and Jennifer Crumbley have been captured, arrested and arraigned in Michigan. The Crumbley’s 15-year-old son Ethan has been charged with killing four students in Oxford, a suburb of Detroit. The parents were captured after police received a tip that the two were hiding in a Detroit warehouse.
The parent were then jailed in the same building as their son. The New York Times writes:
Lawyers for the couple maintained at the arraignment on Saturday morning that the Crumbleys were not fleeing the police and said that a miscommunication with the prosecutor’s office was the reason the couple did not turn themselves in earlier. But that characterization was disputed by Sheriff (Michael) Bouchard during a news conference on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m not going to get into the specifics, but I think where they were and how they were seems to support the position they were hiding and they weren’t looking for surrendering at that point,” he said.
The couple was arraigned later on Saturday. The judge set the bond for the couple at $500,000 each. The Washington Post notes:
Jennifer and James Crumbley each pleaded not guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter, appearing separately at a virtual arraignment during which the prosecution and defense clashed over whether the parents should be eligible for release. Jennifer Crumbley fought back tears as she acknowledged she understood the charges she faces. Her husband vigorously shook his head as McDonald recounted some accusations, including that the parents had provided “total access” to the weapon.
Here is the video of the virtual arraignment:
Here is the CNN account of the Crumbley’s arrest in Detroit, 45 minutes south of Oxford, the town where the shootings took place.
On Friday night, hundreds of residents turned out for a candlelight vigil in Oxford.
