SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) – A teenager charged with killing four students at a Michigan high school will pursue an insanity defense, his lawyers said in a notice filed Thursday as he, his parents and school officials faced a new lawsuit over the attack at Oxford High School.
The notice, listed in a summary of case filings available online, should lead to mental health exams of 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, who is charged as an adult with murder and other crimes for the shooting, which also wounded six other students and a teacher. Experts will consider whether the teen understood the wrongfulness of his conduct on the day of the shooting.
The lawsuit, meanwhile, was announced on behalf of the parents of Tate Myre, who was slain Nov. 30, and other students who witnessed the shootings. It alleges negligence by school officials and Crumbley’s parents over the attack.
“We’re sad and heartbroken – our lives forever changed,” William Myre said at a news conference. “Our family will never be the same. We’re not doing good. All we do is walk around the house and think about Tate. We think about him every day. We sit in his room. We listen to his playlist off Spotify. We’re not doing good, but we’re going to find a way to get through it together.”
The lawsuit, which seeks at least $25,000, names Oxford High School’s dean of students, two counselors and three teachers as defendants. Crumbley and his parents also are named as defendants.