The parents of a suspected Michigan school shooter have pleaded not guilty to killing a Reuters journalist

(Reuters) – A Michigan judge has fined $ 500,000 each for the parents of a teenager accused of killing four high school students after authorities locked the couple in jail on Saturday following a popular browser.

Appearing with a videolink from prison for trial, James and Jennifer Crumbley both pleaded guilty to four counts of murder.

Oakland County Attorney Karen McDonald told a court that the Crumbleys withdrew $ 4,000 from ATMs while the authorities hunted them down and remain in danger of fleeing.

“These are not people we can guarantee will return to court on their own,” he said.

Authorities began searching for the couple after government officials in Oakland County announced Friday that they had been charged with felony criminal mischief for firing on a crowd at the school. Critics say Crumbley bought the gun for their son as a Christmas present and ignored warning signs including the day he fired.

Judge Julie Nicholson said Saturday she was “concerned about the plane crash” the couple came up with after they did not appear in court on Friday.

He was taken to a prison that “looks like a dormitory,” Detroit police spokesman Rudy Harper said early Saturday morning.

“We arrested them,” Harper said when asked if the parents had volunteered, adding that he was trying to escape after being arrested.

Detroit police chief James White told a news conference that the couple had not broken into the house where he had been arrested, but had been allowed by someone else.

The couple’s 15-year-old son, Ethan Crumbley, is being held without bail and is being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder at a US school in 2021 Tuesday at Oxford High School, about 40 miles north. in Detroit.

Crumbley’s parents are expected to appear in court Friday afternoon but have not responded to calls from their lawyers, according to Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe, which led to a search by Sheriff’s Fugitive Apprehension Team.

After failing to appear, the U.S. Marshals Service said it had taken the case and was cooperating with Oakland County officials in the investigation.

“Running away and ignoring their lawyer adds to the burden of litigation,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement Friday. “They cannot escape their share of the tragedy.”

However, the parents’ lawyers filed a statement Friday saying they wanted to return to trial.

“They are not running away from the police,” said attorneys Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman.

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Four days earlier, Ethan accompanied his father to a gun shop, where James Crumbley bought a 9mm pistol, protesters said.

Ethan posted pictures of guns on social media, writing, “I just found my new beauty today.” The next day her mother wrote that the two were “trying out her Christmas present,” said Oakland County Attorney Karen McDonald.

McDonald cited a number of other warnings that he said the parents failed to take action.

On Nov. 21, a teacher found Ethan Crumbley searching for weapons on his cell phone. His mother later texted him, “LOL, I’m not angry. You have to learn not to get caught.”

On the morning of the shooting, the teacher found Ethan Crumbley’s drawings depicting a gun, a bullet, and a bleeding man near the words “Blood everywhere,” “My life is worthless,” and “The mind will never end. – help me.”

School officials called the Crumbleys and advised them to take Ethan’s counsel within 48 hours, McDonald said. The parents “rejected” the idea of ​​taking their child to school and did not search his wallet or ask him about the gun, he said.

After Crumbley left the meeting without his son, Ethan Crumbley was returned to class and later stormed out of the bathroom with a shotgun, killing four students and injuring seven others, authorities said.