Accused Michigan school shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley clears way for trial

Prosecutors also revealed new details during parent’s hearing

Ethan Crumbley, 15, appeared virtually in court on Friday (AP)

The 15-year-old student accused of killing four classmates during a shooting in Oxford Township, Michigan, has reportedly waived his right to a preliminary hearing,

It means that Ethan Crumbley, who authorities have charged as an adult for the attack on Oxford High School on 30 November, will now head straight to trail.

Crumbley appeared virtually in court on Friday to confirm that he was waiving his right to the preliminary hearing, in which prosecutors typically argue for a trial in front of a judge.

The accused teenager, who was in court for less than five minutes, told the judge he had not been threatened or influenced to waive his right to the preliminary hearing, the Detroit News reported.

A prosecutor told the paper that a plea deal for Crumbley was “not even on the horizon right now” following rumours that Crumbley could be offered the chance to plead guilty – and thereby take a reduced sentenced – before a trial.

Paulette Loftin, the teenager’s attorney, told news outlet WWJ-AM that a plea deal was a “definite possibility,” but acknowledged that it was “too early to jump to that phase.” 

The suspect’s parents also appeared in court on Friday and failed to get their $500,000 (£368,000) bond reduced to $100,000 (£73,000).

A judge was reportedly swayed by concerns that James and Jennifer Crumbley could flea prosecution, with the couple facing charges of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of four students that were killed during the shooting at Oxford High School.

Crumbley has meanwhile been charged with terrorism and four counts of murder, and is also being held.

While classes at Oxford High School are due to return in the coming weeks, prosecutors have revealed new evidence against the student, who was reportedly fascinated with Nazi propaganda and allegedly made a video in which he posed with a gun and told a friend that it was “time to shoot up the school — jk, jk, jk” (just kidding).

Earlier in 2021, the teenager also told his mother that he thought “there was a demon or a ghost or someone else inside the home,” but his parents “did not investigate what might be in his room, on his phone or on his (internet) browsers”, the prosection said.

Attorneys for the couple say they did not know their son was planning to attack his school. roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit. Prosecutors accuse the pair of buying the gun that was used that day,

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.