A judge on Thursday denied a change of venue request by a father in a manslaughter case in a Michigan school shooting.
James Crumbley asked for the case to be heard by a jury from another county, arguing that extensive publicity and his wife’s recent conviction prevented him from receiving a fair trial.
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“They were clearly convicted in the court of public opinion,” defense attorney Mariel Lehman said in a Feb. 14 court filing.
It is unusual in Michigan to change the location of a trial or bring in jurors from other counties.
James Crumbley, the father of Ethan Crumbley, the teenager accused of killing four students in the Oxford High School shooting, speaks on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, in Rochester Hills, Michigan. appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on charges of manslaughter. Mr. Crumbley, the father of a Michigan school shooter, has told jurors in other counties that he won’t get a fair trial because of too much publicity and his wife’s recent conviction. He is seeking a verdict in his own manslaughter case. (AP Photo/Paul Sancia)
James Crumbley, 47, is accused of allowing Ethan Crumbley access to a gun and failing to provide his son with mental health care.
The 15-year-old killed four students and injured another in a mass shooting at Oxford High School in 2021.
Jury selection in the father’s Oakland County trial is scheduled for March 5.
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Jennifer Crumbley, 45, was found guilty of manslaughter on February 6 and is awaiting sentencing. Ethan Crumbley, now 17, has pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism and is serving a life sentence without parole.
