PONTIAC, Mich. — Ethan Crumbley, the alleged Oxford High School shooter, will remain in the Oakland County Jail for at least another month, rather than moving to the juvenile jail as his defense team has requested.
Crumbley, 15, has been jailed since Nov. 30, the day of the mass shooting at the school.
"The court has not been presented with any new information to disturb its March 1 order," which is that Crumbley remain jailed at the adult facility, said Oakland County Circuit CourtJudge Kwame Rowe.
The next monthly placement hearing, along with a pre-trial hearing, will be held on April 21, Rowe said.
Rowe asked if the attorneys had heard back from the center that will evaluate Crumbley, as he mounts an insanity defense.
Paulette Loftin, one of his defense attorneys, said a report was expected back in about 45 days.
Deborah McKelvy, who served as his guardian-ad-litem for Crumbley, took issue with a prosecution brief that argued it's the parental role to secure Crumbley's schooling.
"It's no longer the parent's responsibility," McKelvy argued, and has not been since he has been jailed.
But McKelvy said that on Tuesday, she heard from Oakland County Corporation Counsel, offering two educational options: a disciplinary academy, or online schooling.
He could not start cyber school until September, at the earliest.
The second option, when Crumbley turns 16 next month, is a high school equivalency or GED program, with a path to community college classes, McKelvy said. There have been talks with the jail about allowing Crumbley daily access to a laptop, to do school work.
"There has been a lot of movement in that," McKelvy said. She met with Crumbley on Wednesday, and said he's deciding his next move.
Thursday's hearing lasted about 15 minutes.
Authorities allege that after fatally shooting four classmates, and wounding seven others, Ethan Crumbley surrendered himself to a school resource officer. Killed in the shooting were Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17.
Police originally took Crumbley to Oakland County Children's Village, the juvenile jail in Waterford Township.
But after his Dec. 1 arraignment, during which the teen was ordered jailed without bond, he's been in a medical clinic at Oakland County Jail. There he has no contact with other inmates, and little with staff, except for deputies who patrol the area every 15 minutes.
In the five months of his incarceration, Crumbley has had several visits from his attorneys and guardian-ad-litem Deborah McKelvy, and has received "fan mail," according to prior testimony.
As Jason Smith, executive director of the Michigan Center for Youth Justice, wrote January in The Detroit News: "A court that decides to detain a youth in an adult jail must also hold a review hearing once every 30 days, with a 180-day limit unless there is a 'good cause' extension."
The monthly review hearings and 180-day limit are federal requirements, by way of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.
Crumbley was last in court Feb. 22 for a placement hearing. At that hearing, Oakland County prosecutors said Crumbley was "calculated" and "enjoyed his dark side," while defense lawyers countered that the teen cried out for help but received none.
Judge Kwame Rowe ruled then that Crumbley should remain at Oakland County Jail.
Crumbley is charged as an adult with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of terrorism causing death, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of felony firearm in the Nov. 30 shooting that killed four and wounded seven others. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Defense attorneys Paulette Loftin and Amy Hopp in January filed intent to mount an insanity defense. No ruling has been made on Crumbley's competency to stand trial.
