AN Artist who owns the studio where the parents of accused Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley were arrested after hours on the lam claims he had no idea the couple stayed overnight.
James and Jennifer Crumbley, who have both been charged with counts of involuntary manslaughter, were found early Saturday inside Andrzej Sikora's studio in downtown Detroit.
Sikora's attorney, Clarence Dass, told the Associated Press that the couple came to his studio on Friday morning.
Dass claims that Sikora was unaware of the charges against the couple or that they stayed after he left for the day.
When the artist awoke Saturday and heard the news of authorities taking the couple into custody and he voluntarily contacted police, Dass claims. Authorities had been looking for the couple since Friday afternoon.
“There was a lot of confusion and the Crumbleys went to him for safety. He didn’t know about the charges,” Dass said.
“They were there in the daytime. He left in the early evening. He didn’t even know they were still there.”
Sikora, 65, has not been charged, but Detroit police have said the Crumbleys “were aided in getting into the building,” and that a person who helped them may also face charges.
Detectives with the Oakland County Sheriff's office said on Monday that they plan to interview Sikora. Their findings will then be presented to a prosecutor to determine whether or not charges will be filed.
An attorney for James and Jennifer Crumbley, meanwhile, said the couple didn't intend to flee, countering authorities who accused them of eluding capture for their alleged role in a school shooting that left four students dead and seven hurt.
Their 15-year-old son, Ethan Crumbley, has been charged as an adult with murder, terrorism and other crimes after police say he opened fire inside Oxford High School on Tuesday during a five-minute rampage, before surrendering to police.
PARENTS 'FAILED TO INTERVENE'
According to police, the gun used in Monday's shooting was a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun that Ethan's parents had bought for him as an early Christmas present the day after Thanksgiving.
He reportedly bragged about the weapon on social media, uploading a photo of it to Instagram and calling it his "new beauty."
The following day, Jennifer penned her own Instagram post detailing how she and Ethan had spent the day testing the new gun.
"Mom and son day testing out his new Christmas present," Jennifer is said to have written in the since-deleted post.
Three days later, on the morning of the shooting, a teacher at Oxford High summoned Jennifer and James to the school after finding a disturbing note on the teen's desk.
Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said the note included the drawing of a semi-automatic handgun pointing towards the words "the thoughts won't stop, help me," and "blood everywhere."
Also included in the sickening drawing was purportedly the body of a person who had been shot twice, along with a laughing emoji and the words "my life is useless" and "the world is dead."
Ethan was removed from the classroom and Jennifer and James were instructed to get their son counseling within 48 hours.
They allegedly pushed back against the suggestion of removing him from school for the rest of the day and instead Ethan returned to class.
Shortly afterward, investigators say Ethan Crumbley exited a school bathroom and began moving through a hallway at a "methodical pace", indiscriminately shooting students in hallways and classrooms at close range.
Crumbley then surrendered to cops around five minutes after the attack began. He reportedly handed over the same Sig Sauer 9mm that he bragged his parents had bought him on social media days earlier.
According to prosecutors, the gun was stored in an unlocked safe inside Jennifer and James' bedroom.
WARNING SIGNS
James and Jennifer's meeting with teachers at Oxford High on the morning of the shooting came off the back of a second meeting just days earlier in which teachers again raised concerns over Ethan's behavior.
On November 21, a teacher reportedly found Ethan searching for ammunition on his cell phone during class and reported the incident to senior staff at the school.
Administrators left a voicemail for Jennifer Crumbley and followed up with an email but apparently received no response.
Text message records show Jennifer texted her son later that day.
She's alleged to have written: "Lol I'm not mad at you, you have to learn not to get caught."
Ethan Crumbley has pleaded not guilty to 24 felony counts, including one count of terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm. He faces life in prison if convicted.
James and Jennifer have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and are currently being held on $500,000 bond. Prosecutors accused them of failing to intervene on the day of the shooting.
They face 15 years behind bars if convicted.
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