Michigan high school shooter Ethan Crumbley has been caught ‘exhibiting sporadic, disturbing behavior’ on a prison bodycam while awaiting sentencing next month.
He pleaded guilty to killing four of his classmates and wounding seven others in a shooting on November 30, 2021.
Crumbley, 17, will find out if he will spend life in prison in a sentencing hearing scheduled for July 27.
His recent alarming behavior was highlighted in a court document on Thursday and at a routine monthly hearing Friday in Oakland County court.
But prosecutors expect him to be competent enough to attend his upcoming hearing and sentencing.
Michigan high school shooter Ethan Crumbley has been caught ‘exhibiting sporadic, disturbing behavior’ on a prison bodycam while awaiting sentencing next month
He pleaded guilty to killing four of his classmates and wounding seven others in a shooting on November 30, 2021
Crumbley pleaded guilty in Oakland County Circuit Court to a total of 24 charges, including one count of terrorism causing death and four counts of first-degree murder on October 24 last year.
He was also charged with seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
The teenager, who was 15 at the time, opened fire at Oxford High School outside Detroit with a semi-automatic handgun that his father purchased for him as a Christmas gift days before the massacre.
Two boys, aged 17 and 16, and two girls, aged 17 and 14, were killed while six other students and a teacher were wounded.
Prosecutors did not offer any details about Crumbley’s behavior in public but shared them privately with Judge Kwame Rowe and Crumbley’s attorneys.
‘Recently, Defendant has started exhibiting sporadic, disturbing behavior,’ assistant prosecutor Marc Keast said in the court filing.
‘This behavior has been documented via report and body worn cameras from jail personnel responding to various incidents. It is not readily apparent what the impetus for or cause is of this behavior.’
The filing stated that the court is required to consider Crumbley’s behavior and his ability to take part in future hearings. ‘These incidents relate to the defendant’s competence,’ it said.
‘To be clear, the behavior referenced in this motion is recent and was not occurring at the time defendant entered his plea. There is no evidence that raises a bona fide doubt as to Defendant’s competence at that time.’
A prosecutor described the teenager’s actions concerning during a Friday morning routine hearing which looked at his detention in an adult prison as a minor.
A memorial to the four victims of Ethan Crumbley’s shooting at the high school
A parent hugging a child following the active shooter situation at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021
The teenager’s parents, Jennifer Crumbley (left) and James Crumbley (right), both face manslaughter charges for their son’s actions
Crumbley’s attorneys and the prosecutor agreed he is well enough to participate in his upcoming hearing and sentencing on July 27.
Prosecutors will argue why the teenager should be sentenced to the harshest punishment in the state which is life in prison without parole.
While his defense lawyers will present mitigating factors for a prison term of years.
They declined to refer him for a forensic evaluation and potential treatment at the hearing on Friday.
Crumbley made an appearance remotely via video and spoke only to confirm his name and say he could hear Judge Rowe.
The teenager was charged as an adult and first-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence in Michigan.
But because of his age, Crumbley is entitled to a hearing where Rowe will hear testimony about his family life, mental health and other factors and decide whether a shorter sentence would be appropriate.
Separately, his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, face involuntary manslaughter charges.
They’re accused of ignoring their son’s mental health needs and making a gun accessible at home.
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