Ethan Crumbley’s Neighbor Says She Warned Child Protective Services About His Parents Before Shooting
They would leave Ethan at home, alone.
Oakland County Sheriff Office A neighbor of the Oxford High school shooter, Ethan Crumbley and his parents, has revealed she had to call Children’s Protective Services to report the way his parents were treating Crumbley.
Kayla LeMieux claims that Jennifer and James Crumbley often left Ethan alone when they went out to bars in downtown Lake Orion back when Ethan was eight or nine years old.
LeMieux, who lived in the same residential complex as the Crumbleys, said that she’d made an anonymous phone complaint to CPS because she was concerned for Ethan’s wellbeing.
CPS were reportedly aware of problems in Ethan Crumbley's household.
Despite the complaint, she doesn’t think any action was taken.
“When they were gone, [Ethan Crumbley] would come knock on our door,” she said to the Detroit Free Press.
Crumbley would ask LeMieux to call his parents for him because they wouldn’t leave him with a phone.
LeMieux had worked with Crumbley’s mother as a restaurant server in 2012, saying that she considered Jennifer a friend and the two would often spend time together outside of work.
However, their friendship quickly faded once LeMieux started to worry about Ethan and his safety.
In a Facebook messenger conversations that LeMieux provided to the Detroit Free Press, she spoke to the parents about leaving their son alone while they went to bars.
The parents of Ethan Crumbley have since been arrested for their contribution to the Michigan school shooting that left four students dead and several others wounded, including a teacher.
The Oakland County prosecutor charged James and Jennifer Crumbley with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter, a charge that is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The parents were arraigned on Saturday after attempting to flee from authorities, leading to a manhunt by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
Officials said the couple took out $4,000 out of an ATM in Rochester Hills before ending up in Detroit.
Police found them in an art studio inside a commercial building on the city’s east side, and appeared to look “distressed” according to the Detroit Police Chief James White.
The charges are a result of the Crumbleys having bought their son the gun that was used in the fatal school shooting.
James Crumbley had purchased the gun for Ethan, a Sig Sauer 9 mm pistol, on Black Friday as an early Christmas gift for the teenager.
Ethan Crumbley's parents were aware of his concerning behavior at school.
It had been after the purchase, but before the shooting, that school officials had raised concerns about Ethan Crumbley’s behavior to his parents, including a meeting the morning of the school shooting.
The school had alerted them to disturbing and violent images in a drawing found on their son’s desk and were urged to get him counseling.
The Crumbleys had refused to take their son home and did not ask him about the gun or inform the school that he was in possession of one.
Ethan Crumbley has been 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 possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Crumbley is facing life in prison, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.