James and Jennifer Crumbley have been accused of “making a mockery” of proceedings and crimes allegedly carried out by their son Ethan, for displaying “inappropriate” behaviour in court.
Prosecutors argued on Wednesday that the couple, who are charged with involuntary manslaughter for a November school shooting, had been “disrespectful” and “inappropriate”.
That included by blowing “I love you” kisses to each other when making appearances in court, both in-person and virtually in recent months.
“These communications ... not only disparage the integrity of the judicial proceedings as a serious distraction, but are also traumatic for the families of the deceased victims,” wrote Oakland County’s assistant prosecutor this week.
“Their communication is far more distracting and offensive than a cell phone going off, which the court would not condone,” Markeisha Washington added in the filing, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The couple face involuntary manslaughter charges and are accused of allowing Ethan Crumbley, their teenage son, access to a weapon before a shooting at Oxford High School in November.
Citing examples of the “inappropriate” interactions between the pair, Ms Washington argued that the Crumbleys had communicated in a “nonverbal” way during a hearing in December.
During a virtual hearing in January, Ms Crumbley meanwhile appeared to mouth “I love you” to her husband and waved at him while on Zoom, the court filing reportedly argued.
Prosecutors have called on the court to impose restrictions that would “maintain the integrity of the judicial proceedings”, as well as to address concerns aired by the families of the four shooting victims.
Mr and Ms Crumbey, aged 45 and 43, respectively, were arrested days after the high school shooting in December and are accused of ignoring warning signs about their son’s behaviour in the run up to the shooting.
In addition to the four students who were killed in the attack, several more were injured.
It reportedly came within hours of a teachers at the high school expressing concerns about violent drawings made by Ethan, who has been charged as an adult for terrorism and manslaughter, and has appeared in court separately.
He and his parents have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
