Central Michigan University student 'who shot dead both his parents in his dorm room' is arraigned on murder charges from hospital bed

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A 19-year-old student accused of killing his parents inside his Central Michigan University dorm room last week was arraigned from his hospital bed.

Dressed in a blue hospital gown and hooked to machines monitoring his vital signs at McLaren Central Michigan Hospital, James Eric Davis Jr appeared in Isabella County Trial Court via video Tuesday.

He is charged with murder in the Friday slayings of James Davis Sr, 48, and Diva Davis, 47. The family is from the Chicago suburb of Plainfield, where Davis Sr. was a part-time police officer in Bellwood, Illinois.  

James Eric Davis Jr, 19, seen on a video, appears in the courtroom of Isabella County Trial Court in Michigan for his arraignment in the killings of his parents at Central Michigan University

Davis Jr (left) is charged with murder for allegedly shooting to death his father, James Davis Sr, and his mother, Diva Davis (pictured together, right)

Frequently during Tuesday afternoon's hearing, Davis Jr softly traced an index finger between his nose and upper lip. He also rubbed his chin often while listening to questions from Judge Paul Chamberlain.

When asked by Chamberlain if he understood the charges or was able to hear the judge, Davis Jr. quietly responded 'yes.'

Davis Jr. did appear confused when asked if he wanted court-appointed defense attorney Joshua Blanchard to represent him. Chamberlain kept Blanchard as his lawyer for the time being.

The judge also lowered Davis Jr.'s initial $3million bond, setting it at $1.25million.

Davis Jr's parents had just picked him up from a hospital Friday morning, where he was brought for suspected drug abuse a day earlier after campus officers said he was acting erratically, according to police. They took him to his room in Campbell Hall to pack up for spring break when they were shot with a gun that belonged to Davis Sr.

The 48-year-old married father-of-three had served for many years in the Illinois Army National Guard was was an Iraq War veteran.  

Authorities have not said whether drugs were found in Davis Jr.'s system or if the gun used in the shootings was his father's service weapon.

A day after the double homicide, the 19-year-old's older brother came to his defense on social media, writing that Davis Jr was not a 'villain.'    

Davis Jr's older brother Russell Matthew Davis (right), 27, said the 19-year-old (left) is not a 'villain' for killing their parents 

Russell took to Facebook on Saturday, saying he still loves his brother

Russell Matthew Davis, 27,  a doctoral divinity student and a member of the Church of God in Christ denomination, announced his parents' death on Facebook and said that he still loved his brother, despite the tragedy.

'Never thought I’d have to post this type of post... but unfortunately the news is true. My mom and dad both rest from their life of labor and stress in a very tragic event. It’s so surreal, I’m in shock and even in denial... it’s a hard pill to swallow, a heavy load to bear,' Russell wrote. 

Russell went on to say that he still loved his brother. 

'I want him safe, supported and prayed for just like my sister Alexis Davis and I,' Russell said. 

The couple were killed about 9am at this dorm on the Central Michigan University campus in Mt Pleasant 

He had a special message to 'the media and opinionated people': 'Please don't make a villain out of my brother...that is NOT who he is... and despite the circumstances, he also lost a mother and father...And I LOVE him. Consider that!'.   

It's still unclear what caused Davis to kill his parents but campus police revealed at a Friday press conference that they had taken him to the hospital the night before the murders for an 'overdose or bad reaction' to drugs. 

He was discharged from the hospital Friday morning, just half an hour before his parents were killed. 

Davis Jr fled after the shooting and was the focus of an intense manhunt involving more than 100 officers. 

Authorities say Davis Jr (left) used his father's gun to kill his parents. Davis Sr (right) was a police officer in Bellwood, Illinois

News of the shooting has shocked the college student's friends and neighbors, who have have told the Chicago Tribune Davis Jr was a quiet and polite kid from a good and loving family.

 'Junior was a very respectful man, raised by upstanding parents, who would do anything to protect him and his siblings,' longtime family friend Jordan Murphy said.

'This is an incredibly tragic event, and I pray for Eric's other children. This is so incredibly out of character, something went wrong somewhere.'

Murphy also said the slain couple, who had another son and a daughter, were 'ever-present parents who doted on their children'.

Police believed  the suspect had an 'overdose or bad reaction' and took him to McLaren Central Michigan hospital in Mount Pleasant (pictured) the night before the murders 

Davis ran north away from the apartment buildings after the shooting before police arrested him early Saturday morning after a 12-hour manhunt

Friday's shooting caused chaos at the small college town in Michigan.

The school posted to their Facebook on Friday morning about 9.30am, telling students to shelter in place and avoid the area around Campbell Hall while classes were cancelled for the day.

An automated phone message from the school also was sent to students Friday morning.

Friday was the last day of classes for Spring Break, so many parents were headed to the campus to pick students up.

Central Michigan University has about 23,000 students in Mount Pleasant, which is about 70 miles north of Lansing.  

Friday was the last day of classes for Spring Break, so many parents were headed to the campus to pick students up.  

Friends and neighbors of the suspect have said they are shocked by the shooting and that Davis Jr was a good kid from a loving family