Attorneys for Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, quoted Taylor Swift lyrics Thursday during opening statements on the first day of Jennifer's criminal trial.
“On my way to court today, I cursed Taylor Swift to warm up my voice and calm my nerves. There was a line in one of her songs that summed up the case: 'No Band-Aid. The bullet holes don't stop. “And that's what this case is about,” Shannon Smith told jurors, referencing Swift's “Bad Blood.”
Jennifer Crumbley and her husband, James Crumbley (who are being tried separately), accused then-15-year-old Ethan of killing 16-year-old Tate Meyer and 16-year-old Justin Schilling in Oakland County. After that, they were each charged with four counts of manslaughter. On November 30, 2021, 14-year-old Hannah St. Juliana and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin were injured, and seven others were seriously injured.
Smith said the case is about prosecutors trying to put a “band-aid” over issues related to school shootings, in this case the manslaughter charges brought against Jennifer. .
Michigan mother on trial for her son's shooting, raising questions about parental responsibility in mass shootings
Crumbley, 45, was charged with manslaughter in the Nov. 30, 2021, attack.
“Prosecutors charged Jennifer Crumbley with manslaughter to make the community feel better, to make people feel like someone is in charge, and to send a message to gun owners.” said Smith.
“Charging Jennifer Crumbley with manslaughter will not solve any of these problems.”
The defense attorney said that while Jennifer was “not a perfect parent,” prosecutors had “selectively pulled bits and pieces of evidence from the forest to try to convince Ethan that something was wrong” and that his mother “didn't know.” It should have been,” he said. before opening fire on Oxford High School.
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Jennifer broke down in tears as she watched the footage of the school shooting for the first time in court.
Jennifer Crumbley becomes emotional as she watches footage of her son walking through Oxford High School during the 2021 mass shooting Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in Pontiac, Michigan. (Mandy Wright/Detroit Free Press, via AP, Pooh)
Prosecutors allege that Jennifer and James Crumbley bought the gun Ethan used in the shooting as a Christmas present for the then-15-year-old boy. They claim Jennifer posted about the purchase on social media.
Prosecutors also noted that before the shooting, Jennifer sent text messages to friends and co-workers indicating she knew something was wrong with her son.
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On the morning of the shooting, James and Jennifer met with the school counselor to discuss the disturbing drawings Ethan had drawn in class that day. Prosecutors say she left instead of taking him home. Ethan Crumbley then pulled a gun from his backpack and fired. He is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his crimes.
Assistant Prosecutor Mark Keast began his remarks by naming each of the four victims killed on Nov. 30.
“While Jennifer Crumbley did not pull the trigger that day, she is responsible for these deaths.”
Keast also said there was “no allegation” that Jennifer Crumbley gave her son a firearm knowing he would commit a mass shooting, so “she cannot be charged with murder,” but she could not be charged with manslaughter. It was not intentional,” Keast said. .
The deputy prosecutor also submitted a photo of a drawing Ethan made the morning his mother met with school officials.
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Ethan wrote “I can't stop thinking” under a picture of a gun, then erased it before meeting with school officials and continued, “Help me.” Above the picture of the bullet, it says, “Blood everywhere.” Further down the page are other handwritten words and phrases, such as “My life is useless.”
James and Jennifer Crumbley met with their son and school leaders the morning of the shooting after Ethan Crumbley's teacher noticed him drawing disturbing pictures in class. did. (Oakland County)
During the meeting, the 15-year-old suspect was able to convince school officials that the drawing in question was for a “video game.” Prosecutors said in 2022 that her parents “categorically refused” to take their son home.
“I have to go to my son's school and see the counselor,” Jennifer Crumbley said just before 11 a.m. on Nov. 30, during a conversation about horse lessons scheduled for later that day. It's time for today,'' he allegedly sent a text message to an acquaintance.
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After the meeting, Jennifer Crumbley wrote in another email that she “couldn't leave him alone” and suggested she might take Ethan to the horse farm after school on the afternoon of Nov. 30. did.
When Jennifer Crumbley found out her son was the suspected shooter, she told her boss, “The gun's gone, the bullets are gone,'' and “Oh, Andy, he's going to kill himself, he's the shooter.'' It must be,” he texted. She also said, “Ethan did it.”
Preliminary involuntary manslaughter charges against Jennifer Crumbley, mother of Ethan Crumbley, who was sentenced to life in prison for the February 8, 2022, Oxford High School shooting in Rochester Hills, Michigan The text being interrogated is shown. (AP Photo/Paul Sancia)
Immediately after the shooting, the Crumbleys allegedly fled their Oxford home after Michigan authorities issued a red alert for the couple. They were considered fugitives until their arrest by U.S. Marshals on December 4, 2021.
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Lawyers said the parents fled for their own safety and turned themselves in several days later, arguing that they could not have predicted their son's death. plan a mass shooting.
In his December 2023 sentencing, Ethan said his parents were not responsible because they “didn't know” and that Ethan, now 17, “didn't tell them” what he was up to.
