Inside Ethan Crumbley’s ‘concerning home life’ as it’s revealed he had ‘easy access to guns and was left alone aged 8’
DISTURBING details have emerged regarding Ethan Crumbley’s home life as it’s revealed he had easy access to guns and was allegedly left home alone when he was just eight.
Ethan, 15, is accused of killing four students and injuring seven others during a shooting at Oxford high school on November 30.
As reported, the 15-year-old has been charged as an adult, facing four counts of first-degree murder, terrorism, and assault.
Since the killings, disturbing details have arisen surroundings the teen’s “desire to kill his peers” and how his parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, handled their son’s issue.
According to police, the gun used in the was a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun that Ethan’s parents had bought for him as an early Christmas present the day after Thanksgiving.
The now-accused murderer reportedly boasted about the weapon on social media, uploading a photo of it to Instagram and calling it his “new beauty.”
The following day, Jennifer penned her own post detailing how she and Ethan had spent the day testing the new gun.
“Mom and son day testing out his new present,” Jennifer is said to have written in the since-deleted post.
Three days later, on the morning of the shooting, a teacher at Oxford High summoned Jennifer and James to the school after finding a disturbing note on the teen’s desk.
Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said the note included the drawing of a semi-automatic handgun pointing towards the words “the thoughts won’t stop, help me,” and “blood everywhere.”
Also included in the sickening drawing was purportedly the body of a person who had been shot twice, along with a laughing emoji and the words “my life is useless” and “the world is dead.”
Ethan was removed from the classroom and Jennifer and James were instructed to get their son counseling within 48 hours.
They allegedly pushed back against the suggestion of removing him from school for the rest of the day, and instead, Ethan returned to class.
ETHAN ‘OPENS FIRE’ AT RANDOM
Shortly afterward, investigators say Ethan exited a school bathroom and began moving through a hallway at a “methodical pace,” indiscriminately shooting students in hallways and classrooms at close range.
The 15-year-old then surrendered to cops around five minutes after the attack began.
He reportedly handed over the same Sig Sauer 9mm that he bragged his parents had bought him on social media days earlier.
According to prosecutors, the 9mm handgun was stored in an unlocked safe inside Jennifer and James’ bedroom.
There’s no law that requires gun owners to keep weapons locked away from children. McDonald, however, suggested there’s more to build a case on.
“All I can say at this point is those actions on mom and dad’s behalf go far beyond negligence,” she told WJR-AM.
“We obviously are prosecuting the shooter to the fullest extent. … There are other individuals who should be held accountable.”
PARENTS RAP SHEET
Since their son’s arrest, details surrounding the Crumbley’s trouble with the law have been made public.
The Sun exclusively reported that both Jennifer and James have rap sheets, including DUIs and a string of other offenses in .
James and Jennifer were hit with DUI charges on the same day on February 12, 2005, filings from Duval County Court show, with separate officers dealing with the cases.
They pleaded no contest and were fined $652.50 each.
James was also previously fined more than $200 the same year after being busted by Atlantic Beach Police Department for driving without a license and having an improper tag.
His wife was accused of writing a worthless check for $150 in 2003, but the case was later thrown out.
According to court records, Jennifer was then accused of the same offense in 2004 and had to pay a fine of $240.
The couple is said to have both worked in business development and marketing before moving to Washington state and then Michigan.
James was recently in legal trouble again in Florida over child-support payments involving an ex, according to court records from Duval County seen by The Sun.
His last employer, a San Francisco-based company called Monarch that provides GPS tracking to the transportation industry, said he was recently fired but would not disclose why.
Kayla LeMieux claims that Jennifer and James often left Ethan alone when they went out to bars in downtown Lake Orion when the now-accused murderer was about eight or nine years old in 2014 and 2015.
The Crumbleys lived near Lake Orion before moving to Oxford.
LeMieux told the she was so concerned about the boy’s well-being that she made an anonymous phone complaint to the state’s Children’s Protective Services agency.
She also said that when his parents were gone, Ethan would knock on her door and ask her to call his parents.
“They didn’t leave him with a phone,'” said LeMieux.
The now-28-year-old said she worked with Jennifer at a restaurant in 2012 and considered her a friend. However, their friendship ended partly because of LeMieux’s concerns about Ethan.
“It was really when I finally started to say more, because I was just like, even after calling CPS, they were still doing it and even me saying something to them, they were still like ‘Oh he is fine,’” LeMieux told the Free Press, which saw Facebook messages supporting her story.
It’s unclear if CPS ever did anything about LeMieux’s complaint, but a spokesman with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services told the Free Press all reports are confidential.
‘MONSTER’ FAMILY
Now, the ex-girlfriend of James says he’s a “piece of s**t” who abandoned her family and called Jennifer a “monster.”
Michelle Cobb says James left her and the son they share together to move in with Jennifer.
James also left behind a daughter he had with another woman in Florida, claims Cobb.
James and his wife allegedly looked for ways to criticize Cobb because they hated that he had to pay child support for his son, Eli.
“I cried the moment he turned 18 because, I thought, all of this hell is over as far as dealing with my son’s father,” she said.
Cobb blames Jennifer for making it difficult for Eli to get closer to his father and half-brother Ethan, calling her a “monster.”
“She could do no wrong, and she was right about everything. I mean, this is exactly the kind of attitude she has. Like, she literally thought she was better than everyone.”
Cobb said she wouldn’t be surprised if Ethan’s parents bought the semi-automatic handgun as a gift for him.
“They pretty much gave him whatever he wanted,” she said. “Why would you let a 15-year-old have access, especially knowing that just a few days prior, he was having problems at school?”
THE CRUMBLEYS CHARGED
The Crumbleys have been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter after their son allegedly carried out the Oxford high school shooting.
Officials tracked down the teenager’s parents to a basement in Detroit, Michigan, early on Saturday after authorities launched a manhunt for the pair.
The parents are thought to have gone on the run after involuntary manslaughter charges were issued against them.
They face up to 15 years in prison if they’re convicted.
Both parents have pleaded not guilty.
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