Pontiac, Michigan – The jury continued deliberations for a second day in the manslaughter trial of James Crumbley, the father of the teenage gunman responsible for the tragic shooting at Oxford High School in 2021. Authorities have charged James Crumbley with four counts of involuntary manslaughter following the deadly incident that took the lives of four students and injured seven others.
Jurors have been hearing testimony in the case against James Crumbley for the past week, where prosecutors alleged that he ignored warning signs of his son’s deteriorating mental health before providing him with the gun used in the school shooting. This trial comes after James Crumbley’s wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.
During closing statements, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald emphasized that the case was about James Crumbley’s failure to fulfill his legal duty in preventing the tragic deaths of the four students. McDonald highlighted how James Crumbley bought his son a gun shortly before the shooting and failed to secure it, despite clear red flags regarding his son’s mental state.
The prosecution presented text messages between the Crumbleys that indicated concerns about their son on the day of the shooting, where the parents were called to the school due to disturbing drawings found on his assignment. Despite these warnings, the Crumbleys chose not to remove their son from school, citing work commitments.
In her defense, attorney Mariell Lehman argued that the charges against James Crumbley were based on assumptions and hindsight, stressing that there was no evidence showing he knew of the potential threat his son posed to his classmates. Lehman asserted that her client had no knowledge of the mental distress his son was experiencing leading up to the tragic event.
The cases against the Crumbleys are distinctive as they are the first instances where parents have faced charges for a mass shooting committed by their child. Meanwhile, the teenage gunman, Ethan Crumbley, pleaded guilty to numerous charges, including terrorism and first-degree murder, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole earlier this year.
Prosecutors previously revealed that social media posts proved Ethan Crumbley had premeditated the school shooting, resulting in the deaths of four students and injuries to several others. The trial of James Crumbley continues as the community seeks justice and closure in the aftermath of the devastating incident at Oxford High School.