DETROIT — Oakland County prosecutors on Tuesday said accused Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley was "calculated" and "enjoyed his dark side."
Attorneys for the defense depict the teen as mentally unwell and crying out for help ahead of the Nov. 30 rampage that left four of his classmates dead and six other students and a teacher wounded.
The opposing pictures of the 15-year-old sophomore marked the opening of a hearing over where the teen should be housed as he awaits trial on 24 felonies including first-degree murder and terrorism. Crumbley has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
For now, Crumbley, who is charged as an adult, is incarcerated at the Oakland County Jail. His legal team has pressed for him to be transferred instead to a juvenile facility in Pontiac.
In making their case Tuesday, Oakland County prosecutors noted text messages and a journal allegedly authored by Crumbley laid out plans to "rape, torture and ultimately kill a female classmate" and that he "expressed delight in torturing a family of baby birds."
Assistant Prosecutor Markeisha Washington said Crumbley is "fascinated with violence, weapons and seeing others suffer."
"The defendant's anti-social behavior is very concerning," Washington told Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwame Rowe. "The evidence will show he bragged about wearing a mask to the public. He enjoyed his dark side.
"To place the defendant with other at-risk juveniles, who are potentially the same risk as his victims,” would not be safe for the other juveniles," she added.
But Crumbley's attorney Paulette Loftin countered that leading up to the rampage, Crumbley was hallucinating, seeing things and hearing voices.
"He was not sleeping, he was extremely anxious," she said. "He was not eating properly ... and he asked his parents to see a therapist. And at the time of this event, my client was not in any sort of therapy."
In Oakland County Jail, Crumbley has “very little access with anyone,” she said, other than the deputy who checks in on him every 15 minutes.
“This extreme isolation is not beneficial whatsoever, and actually harms Mr. Crumbley,” Loftin told the judge.
Loftin said that other than 12 visits from the lawyers working his case, and emails from “random” people, he has little contact with the world. “He doesn’t have the phone numbers of his family members,” she added.
Three witnesses are set to testify during Tuesday's hearing over Crumbley's placement.
First was Christina Belling, a caseworker for the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. She works with juveniles at the Oakland County Jail, and is Crumbley’s caseworker.
Belling said she’s been on Crumbley’s case since “the day he came in,” Dec. 1. They met “daily,” ranging from “five, 10 minutes” and longer, so she can assess the teen for mental health issues.
Since January, when Crumbley was taken off of “constant watch” at the jail, Belling and Crumbley meet less often, about “twice a week,” she testified Tuesday.
Belling noted that of the 70 inmates she works with at the jail, Crumbley is the only one she meets twice a week, “because of his housing and because he’s a juvenile.” Crumbley is her only juvenile client.
Heather Calcaterra, manager of the Oakland County Children’s Village, also addressed the court Tuesday about lodging arrangements and permitted activities within the juvenile facility, which can house up to 60 inmates at a time and has 38 inmates now.
“How many are there on a charge of murder?” Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Collins asked.
“None,” Calcaterra responded.
Inmates on the campus, Calcaterra said, are referred to as "residents." Each is housed in a single "cement slab" room with a mattress brought in during sleeping hours. The inmates attend school, have time for homework and recreation.
The facility also has two fenced-in courtyards and two indoor gyms. There are areas for card games and television. It has a ratio of 1 staffer per 8 residents “during waking hours,” Calcaterra said.
She also acknowledged Tuesday the facility has some "staffing issues." About a month ago, Calcaterra said, there was a temporary lockdown for about a week "because we simply could not staff it safely."
"Our only option was to do that," she said.
Last month, Crumbley's legal team filed a notice of an insanity defense in the circuit court. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald maintains that she does not believe Crumbley's mental state would affect his ability to face charges.
Crumbley's defense team also has argued for some of the jail records involving the teen to remain private and not be part of the public court file or made available to the media.
The teen allegedly told his mother, in a text, that he had seen ghosts and demons in his home prior to the shooting, according to testimony by Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast, who read from the alleged texts between Ethan Crumbley and his mother, Jennifer, at a hearing last month for the parents.
Jennifer and James Crumbley are each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly shooting. Each felony charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Killed were Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17.
The couple had portrayed their son as troubled, according to testimony presented earlier this month during the first day of the couple's preliminary examination in Rochester Hills District Court.
Jennifer Crumbley had a growing concern over their son's lack of relationships and shared a screenshot with friends and colleagues of the troubling artwork allegedly drawn by her son and noted that she'd been called to his school to discuss it.
Prosecutors contend James and Jennifer Crumbley failed to properly secure a gun purchased for Ethan and that they failed to address concerns pointed out by school officials about the teen's behaviors, including on the day of the deadly shooting.
The preliminary examination for Ethan's parents is set to resume Thursday in Rochester Hills District Court.
