Oxford High School shooter's mother asks to dismiss 3 witnesses, 'gruesome' evidence that could anger jury

Jennifer Crumbley, mother of 2021 Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, is asking to dismiss three witnesses, who were victimized during the shooting, in her trial, citing "devastating, gruesome, and appalling" factual evidence that could "inflame the passions of a jury."

Oakland County prosecutors in Michigan filed court documents on Dec. 28 adding the three witnesses to Jennifer Crumbley's trial "based on their prior testimony in Court in the shooter's case," her attorneys wrote. 

"At the shooter's trial, testimony about what transpired during the shooting…would have been all relevant," a court document filed earlier this week reads. "However, in Mrs. Crumbley's trial, the jury is being asked to address the elements of offenses she is charged with, and the testimony of three additional witnesses by the prosecution would only distract the jurors from the task at hand, confuse them, and be unnecessary."

Ethan Crumbley's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter each for their alleged roles in the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting that left four students dead, including 16-year-old Tate Myre, 16-year-old Justin Shilling, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, and seven others injured. 

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Prosecutors say the Crumbley parents purchased their 15-year-old son a firearm for Christmas and posted about it on Facebook. They have also alleged that the firearm was not secured inside their home. 

The Crumbleys' respective cases are the first of their kind in the country, not only because of the involuntary manslaughter charges filed against Jennifer and James in connection with the deadly shooting but because Ethan Crumbley was charged with terrorism resulting in death in addition to murder charges.  

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"During the shooter's legal proceedings, much of the details of the shooting itself were revealed through the Miller hearing and the shooter's sentencing. During the Miller hearing, the prosecution played the actual footage of the events within the school, and witnesses testified in great deal [sic] about the hell they have suffered…during and since the November 30, 2021, school shooting," Jennifer Crumbley's attorneys wrote.

While Jennifer Crumbley's defense team "neither disputes any of what the victims have suffered, nor does it intend to undermine or minimize those experiences," her attorneys do believe "the details of what the victims experienced are irrelevant to the elements of the charged offenses in Mrs. Crumbley's trial."

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Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald has said that James and Jennifer Crumbley met with school administrators on the morning of the shooting to discuss violent drawings he made just hours before the deadly rampage, but they dismissed those concerns and left without taking him home. 

"The thoughts won't stop," Ethan Crumbley allegedly wrote beneath a drawing of a gun, followed by, "Help me." Above a drawing of a bullet, the drawing says, "Blood everywhere." Further down on the page are other handwritten words and phrases including, "My life is useless."

The 15-year-old suspect was able to convince school officials during the meeting that the concerning drawings were for a "video game." His parents "flatly refused" to take their son home, the prosecutor said at the time.

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McDonald said during Ethan Crumbley's Miller hearing in July that Crumbley planned the shooting extensively and carried out his actions without showing remorse at the time.

"There was extensive planning, and … we hear that he put toilet paper in his ears to protect his hearing before the shooting," McDonald said in July. "He researched and knew what kind of weapon he needed, and the one his parents already had for him was not going to do the job, so he advocated for a higher-power firearm with more deadly bullets. He practiced. He went to the shooting range."

Crumbley's defense attorney, meanwhile, argued that Crumbley had shown signs of severe mental illness years prior to the shooting, and neither his parents nor school officials did anything to help him. They also argued that he has the potential to be rehabilitated, saying he has participated in therapy every day and is taking medication by his own choice.

"We are all here because of me today. Because of what I did," Crumbley said at the end of Friday's proceedings, adding that he "could not stop" himself. The now-17-year old also said his parents are not to blame because they "did not know," and Crumbley did not "tell them" what he planned to do.

"…Just got to go to my son's school and meet his counselor. Sh*t day," Jennifer Crumbley allegedly texted an acquaintance just before 11 a.m. on Nov. 30 in a conversation about her horse lesson scheduled for later that day.

Jennifer Crumbley said in another text that morning she still planned on attending her horse training, saying her son was just going through a "hard time" after the death of their family dog, Tank, and "his friend going away to a treatment facility and who knows what else," according to prosecutors.

After the meeting, Jennifer Crumbley suggested in another text that she might bring Ethan to the horse farm on the afternoon of Nov. 30 after school, saying, "He can’t be left alone."

She also allegedly texted her boss a photo of Ethan's disturbing drawing, saying, "I have to go to school. Counselor just called. This is what I’m dealing with."

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After learning that her son was the suspected shooter, Jennifer Crumbley texted her boss: "The gun is gone and so are the bullets," and "Omg Andy he's going to kill himself he must be the shooter." She also said, "Ethan did it."

Following the shooting, Michigan police could not immediately find James and Jennifer Crumbley at their home. They were missing for about a day before U.S. Marshals caught up with the couple and apprehended them.