Accused Oxford High School Shooter Ethan Crumbley To Plead Insanity

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Defense lawyers for accused Oxford School shooter Ethan Crumbley on Wednesday said in court filings that the teen plans to pursue an insanity defense.

“Please take notice that … Ethan Crumbley intends to assert the defense of insanity at the time of the alleged offense,” his lawyers, Paula Loftin and Amy Hopp wrote in the one-paragraph filing in Oakland County Circuit Court.

The filing now paves the way for Crumbley to receive a psychiatric evaluation, which has not yet been done and is needed to pursue an insanity defense.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has previously stated that she has no reason to believe that Crumbley’s mental state would affect his ability to face charges.

Prosecutors have portrayed Crumbley as a troubled and homicidal teen who battled depression, hallucinated, tortured animals, was fascinated with guns and Nazi propaganda. They also have blamed the parents for the mass shooting, saying they ignored numerous red flags that their son was in trouble, and instead bought him a gun.

“The (parents) had information long before Nov. 30 (six months prior to the shooting) that their son’s only friend moved at the end of October, that the family dog died, that their son was sadder than usual, and that he was sending his mother disturbing texts about his state of mind,” the prosecution has argued in court documents. “Instead of paying attention to their son and getting him help, they bought him a gun.”

Crumbley is charged with shooting up his school with a gun that his parents bought him as an early Christmas present on Black Friday, which was just four days before the Nov. 30 massacre.

His parents, James, and Jennifer Crumbley, have also been charged in the case with involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors allege the parents not only ignored their son’s problems, but bought him a gun that allowed him to carry out the crime, and failed to properly secure it in the house.