Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley is set to pursue an insanity defense after he plead not guilty killing four students and injurin...
Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley is set to pursue an insanity defense after he plead not guilty killing four students and injuring dozens of other during the massacre.
Crumbley, 15, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism and gun charges earlier this month.
His attorney filed a notice on Thursday which will be used to perform a psychiatric evaluation on Crumbley where experts will consider whether the teen understood the wrongfulness of his conduct on the day of the shooting.
'Please take notice that... Ethan Crumbley intends to assert the defense of insanity at the time of the alleged offense,' the teen's lawyers Paulette Loftin and Amy Hopp wrote in a filing to the Oakland County Circuit Court.
Under Michigan law, if someone is found not guilty by reason of insanity, they don't walk free. They must be referred to a state psychiatric center for custody and further evaluation.
Someone who is found guilty but mentally ill still would be sentenced to prison but with recommendations that they get treatment.
Prosecutors have previously noted 'red flags' in Crumbley's mental health based on previous behaviors which included allegedly torturing animals, bringing bullets to class and drawing depictions of guns on his schoolwork.
Crumbley is charged as an adult in the November 30 shooting at Oxford High School.
The teen is accused of killing four people — Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17 — and injuring seven others, including a teacher.
A lawsuit has since been filed over the massacre which claimed that school officials James and Jennifer Crumbley were negligent in addressing the teen's 'disturbing' behavior.'
Ethan Crumbley, 15, will use 'insanity' as a defense after he previously plead not guilty for his alleged involvement in a school shooting massacre
Crumbley allegedly opened fire at Oxford High School in Michigan on November 30 where four people were killed and several others were injured
Justin Shilling, 17, (left) died in the hospital after the shooting and Tate Myre (right) died in the school on November 30
Madisyn Baldwin, 17, (left) and Hana St Juliana, 14, (right) died in the shooting rampage at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit
A prominent Detroit defense attorney Mike Rataj, who is not connected with the case, said that the move for Crumbley was expected from his lawyers based on his past experiences with insanity defense cases.
'I don’t have all the facts. I don’t have contact with the client. But from a distance, it seems to me that this is the most prudent form of action,' Rataj said, according to the Detroit Free Press. 'Sometimes it flies, sometimes it doesn't.'
'It's going to come down to a battle of the experts and whether the jury is going to believe that the kid cannot formulate the necessary intent because he’s insane.'
However, Rataj noted that 'people who are schizophrenic — that doesn't necessarily mean that they're not guilty by reason of insanity.'
Cornell University psychiatrist Dr Ziv Cohen noted that in order for the insanity plea to work, Crumbley would have to be considered to be completely out of touch with reality in order for it to possibly be effective.
However, Cohen noted that Crumbley's young age may provide him an advantage for him which could even result in a lowered sentence.
School officials became concerned about Ethan Crumbley a day before the shooting, when a teacher saw him searching for ammunition on his phone.
Jennifer Crumbley was contacted and subsequently told her son in a text message: 'Lol. I´m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught,' according to Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald.
If Crumbley is found not guilty of the charges, he will be referred to a state psychiatric facility for further evaluation
Crumbley's parents have Jennifer (left) and James Crumbley (right) have also been charged for involuntary manslaughter after they allegedly gave their son the gun he used in the shooting as a Christmas present
The day of the shooting, a teacher found a note on Ethan´s desk and took a photo.
It was a drawing of a gun pointing at the words, 'The thoughts won´t stop. Help me,' McDonald said in December.
The drawing also featured a person who appeared to have been shot twice and is bleeding with the words 'My life is useless' and 'The world is dead' written.
The gun used in the shooting was bought days before by James Crumbley and their son had full access to it, according to authorities.
McDonald has said that James and Jennifer Crumbley committed 'egregious' acts by buying a gun on Black Friday and making it available to Ethan Crumbley to resisting his removal from school when they were summoned a few hours before the shooting.
James and Jennifer Crumbley, later were charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The lawsuit, meanwhile, was announced on behalf of the parents of Tate Myre, who was slain November 30, and other students who witnessed the shootings. It alleges negligence by school officials and Crumbley's parents over the attack.
'We're sad and heartbroken - our lives forever changed,' William Myre said at a news conference. 'Our family will never be the same. We're not doing good. All we do is walk around the house and think about Tate. We think about him every day. We sit in his room. We listen to his playlist off Spotify. We´re not doing good, but we´re going to find a way to get through it together.'
Victim Tate Myre's father Willam (left) and mother Sheri (right) appear for a conference in Southfield on Thursday after they filed a new lawsuit alleging that school officials and Crumbley's parents were negligent prior to the Oxford High School shooting
Student Keegan Gregory's parents Meghan (left) and Chad (right) appear at the conference after their son witnessed the shooting of Justin Shilling in the school bathroom
Attorney Ven Johnson shows a social media post that he says is from Jennifer Crumbley, mother of Ethan Crumbley, showing a gun during a news conference
Attorney Ven Johnson shows a blowup of Ethan Crumbley's test review paper with notes and drawings
The lawsuit, which seeks at least $25,000, names Oxford High School's dean of students, two counselors and three teachers as defendants. Crumbley and his parents also are named as defendants.
The suspect's parents are accused of intentional, reckless and negligent conduct that led to the mass shooting.
The Oxford High School staff and teachers are accused of gross negligence that led to the shooting by not removing the shooter from the school building earlier.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Oakland County Circuit Court on behalf of Tate Myre's parents, William and Sheri.
Also named as plaintiffs are Chad and Meghan Gregory, whose son, Keegan, was hiding in a school bathroom with Justin Shilling when Shilling was fatally shot.
The lawsuit also was filed on behalf of Lauren Aliano, whose daughters, Sophia Kempen and Grace Kempen, were hiding in classrooms during the shooting.
A memorial was set up outside of Oxford High School in remembrance of the victims
Flowers, candles and stuffed animals lined around the memorial in front of the school
Detroit-area attorney Ven Johnson, who is representing parents in the lawsuit filed Thursday, said Ethan Crumbley knew what he was doing and 'clearly he was disturbed,' but his parents did nothing.
Chad Gregory recounted during Thursday's news conference what his son witnessed during the shooting.
Keegan Gregory was texting his family from a bathroom stall where he and Shilling were hiding.
'He was in that bathroom for five minutes,' Chad Gregory said. 'He was in there with a shooter who had just killed, wounded, injured. Justin gave him a plan that "if we get a chance, we will run."'
'He called them out one-by-one and Justin happened to be the first,' said Chad Gregory, adding that after Shilling was shot, Keegan was able to flee the bathroom.
Two months later, Keegan remains traumatized, Meghan Gregory said.
'He's nowhere near going back to class, let alone functioning like a normal 15-year-old child,' she said. 'We have to check doors. We have to check under beds.'
In December, Jeffrey and Brandi Franz filed a pair of lawsuits in federal court and county circuit court seeking $100 million each against the district.
Their 17-year-old daughter Riley was shot in the neck and her 14-year-old sister Bella was next to her at the time she was shot.
Their lawsuit says school officials and high school staff didn't do enough to prevent the shooting and protect students.
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