Ethan Crumbley appears in court.
Another Crumbley hearing, another chance for Oakland County prosecutors to reveal more sordid details about a member of the family.
Today, during a court hearing to decide whether the 15-year-old accused school shooter should move from jail to juvenile detention as his case plays out, we were told he's enjoying his infamy and journaled detailed plans for the shooting, including who he'd kill first and surviving to "witness the pain and suffering." Also, that he likes torturing baby birds and planned to rape and torture a female classmate.
From the Free Press:
"He asked in jail, 'How do I get my fan mail? How do I get my hate mail?' He wants that notoriety," Assistant Oakland Prosecutor Kelly Collins argued in court Tuesday, alleging the teenager also communicates with the outside world through a tablet, telling them things like: "My court date is Feb. 22. Maybe you can watch me on TV."
"He wants to be remembered," Collins told the judge, stressing the massacre at Oxford High School was planned out in advance. "His actions were not impulsive. They were calculated, rehearsed, and well thought out."
He once texted a friend, prosecutors said: "The scary thing is — I like being this f----- up."
Prosecutors also described his admiration of Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer, The Detroit News reported, quoting him as saying: "When you die, you need to be remembered for a long time doing something that will make people think of you until time ends."
The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office has argued the teen needs to stay in jail with adults, where he's isolated and monitored. If moved to Oakland County's Children's Village, Crumbley would pose a danger to the other kids and could escape, as multiple people have in the past year, they've said.
The manager of the juvenile detention center echoed those concerns in Tuesday testimony, according to The Detroit News:
(Heather Calcaterra of Children’s Village testified) of her concern about housing a juvenile accused in a school shooting, the “trauma impact” on other residents, and the facility’s ability to take care of someone who has offered an insanity defense.
“We don’t know how the defendant’s presence on the campus, on the unit, will trigger other young people in Oakland County,” Calcaterra said. “I’m also concerned for his safety. I do not know if he would be a target.”
Upon admission, inmates are screened to assess their state of mind as they're coming in. If a risk of suicide, depression or anxiety is identified, "we may put them on a safety plan and they would be monitored," she said.
Crumbley's court-appointed attorney meanwhile cast the child as struggling and in need of help, alleging he asked to see a therapist before the shooting. An advocacy group has found isolating a child in adult jail increases the likelihood they'll kill themselves or be attacked. At Children's Village, she said he could go to school and receive better treatment.
Unlike adult facilities, juvenile detention centers focus on rehabilitation, with the idea that the right interventions can help anyone whose brain is still developing chart a new course. Children's Village, for its part, claims to offer a "therapuetic environment."
Judge Kwame Rowe is expected to make a decision next week.
