Accused Oxford School Shooter To Plead Insanity: Report

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — Accused Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley plans to plead insanity to charges in connection with a school shooting that killed four students and wounded seven other people at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, according to multiple reports that cite his defense team.

Crumbley faces 24 charges, including terrorism and four counts of premeditated first-degree murder.

The court filing allows Crumbley to receive a psychiatric evaluation, which has not yet been conducted and is needed to pursue an insanity defense. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has argued that Crumbley’s mental state would not affect the charges he faces or his ability to stand trial.

Crumbley recently waived his preliminary exam, meaning his case will go straight to trial. His lawyers were also denied a motion to have him moved back to a juvenile facility because he could hear adult inmates. He is currently housed in Oakland County jail.

Prosectors have described Crumbley as a deeply troubled and depressed teen who hallucinated and tortured animals. They have also accused his parents of ignoring warning signs in the lead-up to the deadly shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30.

James and Jennifer Crumbley were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter and placed in the Oakland County jail on $500,000 bail each. An Oakland County judge recently denied their bid to reduce their bail to $100,000.

Prosecutors say the couple poses a flight risk, since both of them have family members in Florida, have placed most of their possessions in storage, as well as sold the family's horses and organized the sale of their Oxford home. Their lawyers argue they do not pose a flight risk and placed the home up for sale due to safety reasons.