Crumbley trial jurors see shooting video, son’s journal
Sides rehash allegation couple was on the lam
Prosecutors began presenting more witnesses Tuesday in the involuntary manslaughter trial of James Crumbley, father of the Oxford High School shooter who killed four students and wounded seven other people on Nov. 30, 2021, using a gun his dad had purchased for him just four days earlier.
Ethan Crumbley, the shooter, pleaded guilty to all charges against him and is serving life without the possibility of parole. His mother, Jennifer Crumbley, was convicted last month of four counts of involuntary manslaughter, making her the first parent in America held criminally responsible for a child’s school shooting.
Prosecutors are seeking to hold both parents accountable for the deaths of Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17.
The Crumbleys have maintained that they never saw any signs that their son was mentally ill, a threat or that he would ever shoot up his school.
Shooting video stuns courtroom
The courtroom was quiet on Tuesday, Day 4 of the trial, as prosecutors played the silent surveillance footage of the shooting. Some jurors wiped their eyes with tissues and others sat with their hands over their mouths as they watched the video play.
James Crumbley became emotional while the video played and looked away.
The prosecution also showed images from the shooter’s journal while detective Lt. Timothy Willis, with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, read the passages aloud. Entries in the journal, which was recovered in the school bathroom where one of the victims was killed, include:
⬤ “I have zero HELP for my mental problems.”
⬤ “I want help but my parents don’t listen to me so I can’t get any help.”
⬤ “All I need is my 9mm pistol which I am currently begging my dad for.”
⬤ “I will have to find where my dad hid my 9mm before I can shoot up the school.”
⬤ “I’m about to shoot up the school and spend the rest of my life in prison.”
⬤ “First off I got my gun. It’s a SP2022 Sig Sauer 9mm. Second the shooting is tomorrow. I have access to the gun and the ammo. I am fully committed this to now. So yeah, I’m going to prison for life and many people have about 1 day left to live.”
Video of James and Jennifer Crumbley arriving at the building in Detroit, where they were ultimately arrested, was also shown. In it, James Crumbley can be seen reparking their vehicle so that it is backed into a space. Willis testified that happened after James and Jennifer Crumbley were charged that afternoon.
“Oftentimes, fugitives will back into a spot to, one, attempt to … hide their license plate,” Willis said, adding that also makes it easier to “get away if necessary.”
A theme that the prosecution has hammered on since the Crumbleys’ arrest is that the couple was on the run because, it maintains, they knew they had done something wrong. Defense attorney Mariell Lehman is working to counter that narrative.
The Crumbleys say they feared being at home because of threats, had talked with lawyers and planned to turn themselves in the next day.
Several hours of testimony focused on this narrative Tuesday, with the prosecution showing video of the couples’ arrest, and witnesses testifying about the manhunt that ensued.
Detective describes search
David Hendrick, who was sergeant of the Oakland County Sheriff ’s Office fugitive apprehension team at the time of the shooting, testified his team was asked on Dec. 2, 2021, to locate James and Jennifer Crumbley.
He testified they did not locate the couple that day, but a vehicle belonging to the couple was found at a hotel in Auburn Hills on Dec. 3. Hendrick testified he was made aware that the two were formally charged that day.
Later that night, the couple’s other vehicle was located by police in the parking lot of a building in Detroit, he testified. James and Jennifer Crumbley were eventually found inside the building and taken into custody after 1 a.m. Dec. 4, he said.