Ethan Crumbley, a 16-year-old Michigan man charged with killing four Oxford High School students and wounding seven others in a shooting in November 2021, pleaded guilty to all charges on Monday.
There are a total of 24 accusations against Crumbley, who is in court in Pontiac at the Oakland County Courthouse. These include allegations of terrorism and murder.
The next in-person hearing, set for February 9, 2023, will take place once the plea was accepted, according to Judge Kwamé Rowe.
PROSECUTORS SAY ETHAN CRUMBLEY IS EXPECTED TO PLEAD GUILTY
As associate prosecutor Marc Keast outlined the crimes, some victims’ family members were sobbing in the gallery, according to the Associated Press. The teen affirmed each detail several times.
In Michigan, a first-degree murder conviction usually results in an automatic life sentence in prison; however, minors are entitled to a hearing at which their attorney can argue for a lesser sentence and the possibility of parole, according to the Associated Press.
The teen repeatedly stated that he knew the potential consequences and dropped his intention to pursue an insanity defense as part of the plea agreement.
Crumbley, who was 15 years old when the incident occurred on November 30, 2021, initially entered a not-guilty plea in January.
Teachers at Oxford High School who flagged a shooter’s “concerning” warning signs were ignored, according to an attorney.
James and Jennifer Crumbley are each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Due to the fact that they had purchased Ethan a gun on Black Friday, Nov. 26, 2021, the prosecution contends that the pair should be held accountable for the shooting. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald cited a social media post from Jennifer Crumbley in a motion she filed earlier this year, in which she claimed that the parents had bought the gun as a Christmas present for their son.
In a Sept. 9 request to introduce evidence, McDonald stated that the shooter “did not merely snap,” rather, “he followed a trail carved for him by earlier shooters, and allowed by these defendants.”
