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ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) — The parents of a teenager who is accused of at a Michigan school faced a key hearing Tuesday to determine if they will face trial after a judge turned down a request to postpone it.
Defense attorney Mariell Lehman said more time was needed to review evidence against James and Jennifer Crumbley. She also cited the difficulty of consulting with them in jail during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Judge Julie Nicholson said the hearing would go forward.
The Crumbleys, who were in court for the hearing, are . They’re accused of making a gun accessible to Ethan Crumbley and failing to intervene when he showed signs of mental distress.
Nicholson must determine if there’s enough evidence to send the parents to the trial court in Oakland County.
Four students at Oxford High School were killed and more were injured on Nov. 30. Earlier that day, the Crumbleys declined to take Ethan home when they were confronted with their son’s drawings of violence. School officials allowed him to stay but told the parents to get him help.
Their attorneys insist the Crumbleys didn’t know that a shooting was in the works and didn’t make the gun easy to find at home.
Separately, Ethan Crumbley is with murder and other crimes. His lawyers filed a notice of an insanity defense, which will likely freeze his case while he is examined by experts.
The high school, roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit, , nearly two months after the shooting.