Oxford HS Shooter And Parents Placed On Suicide Watch: Officials

OXFORD, MI — Accused school shooter Ethan Crumbley and both his parents were placed on suicide watch after they were arrested in connection with the deadly Oxford High School shooting, authorities said.

James and Jennifer Crumbley and their son were all individually housed in isolation at the same Oakland County jail, officials said. Staff in the jail were checking on them "multiple times an hour," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said at a news conference Saturday.

"There is no indication that any of them were suicidal, but out of an abundance of caution, our amazing corrections team is doing suicide watches on all three of them," Bouchard said. "They are in custody and in isolation."

Ethan Crumbley, 15, was ordered held without bond after he was charged with multiple premeditated counts of murder in the shooting deaths of four students at Oxford High School, officials said. Seven other people were wounded.

The teen's parents James, 45, and Jennifer, 43, were each held on $500,000 cash bail after they were charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Police found the parents Saturday hiding in a commercial building near downtown Detroit after they went missing Friday, officials said. Lawyers for the couple had said Saturday they were not fleeing law enforcement, but rather that they intended to voluntarily appear for arraignment Saturday.

"This case is the saddest, most tragic, worst case imaginable," Shannon Smith, a lawyer representing the pair, said at their arraignment. "There is absolutely no doubt that our clients were going to turn themselves in, and it was just a matter of logistics."

However, prosecutors said the couple — who reportedly withdrew thousands of dollars in cash from an ATM — posed a flight risk.

"They sought multiple attempts to hide their location and were eventually tracked down after they parked their car somewhere a witness saw it," Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

"These two individuals were found locked somewhere in a room, hiding. These are not people that we can be assured will return to court on their own," she added.

RELATED COVERAGE

• Oxford HS Staff Should Have Searched Teen, Experts Say
• Oxford Shooting Victim Returns Home From Hospital
• Oxford Superintendent: No Discipline Needed Before Shooting
• After Oxford HS Shooting, Parents Demand Social Media Oversight
• Crumbley's Journal, Phone Videos Showed Desire To Kill: Sheriff
• Ethan Crumbley: 5 Things To Know About Accused Oxford HS Shooter
• 'Beloved Teammate': Oxford Community Remembers Hana St. Juliana
• 'Great Young Man': Oxford High School Teen Remembered As Hero
• Oxford High School Shooting: Justin Shilling A 'Devoted Friend'
• 'I Have No Words, Only Tears.' Remembering Madisyn Baldwin