James Crumbley's threatening jail calls against Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald released
(CBS DETROIT) - The threatening jail calls that James Crumbley, the father of the Oxford High School shooter, made against Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, were released by the prosecution Wednesday.
James and Jennifer Crumbley became the first parents United States to be convicted in a mass school shooting carried out by their child after their son killed four students and injured seven other people in the Oxford High School shooting on Nov. 30, 2021. Their son was sentenced to life in prison without parole in December 2023.
The release of this new information comes ahead of the parents' sentencing, which is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9.
READ: Oakland County prosecutors seek 10 to 15 years in prison for James and Jennifer Crumbley
The prosecution is seeking 10 to 15 years in prison for both of them. James Crumbley is requesting time served, but the prosecution says his threatening jail calls show he hasn't taken responsibility for his role as a parent in the shooting.
"Defendant's jail calls showed that he blamed everyone but himself for what happened and that he repeatedly referred to himself as being persecuted and considered himself a 'martyr,'" the recent court document noted.
While the parents were behind bars awaiting their trials on the involuntary manslaughter charges, James Crumbley made several threatening phone calls to Karen McDonald.
READ: James Crumbley, father of Oxford High School shooter, found guilty of involuntary manslaughter
He addressed threats directly to McDonald and in one threat made on Sept. 23, 2022, he said, "Yeah, YOU f****** Karen McDonald. You're a f****** stupid b****. I hope you're listening to this, you f****** b****."
Other threats the prosecution released in the document include the following highlighted comments:
- "Well, she's going to be f****** sucking on a f****** hot rock down in hell soon." (Jail call on Dec. 6, 2022)
- "Yeah, Karen McDonald, you're going down. Yeah. You stupid b******* at the jail. Go ahead, record this call, Send it to Karen McDonald. Tell her how James Crumbley is going to f****** take her down." (Jail call on Oct. 9, 2023)
- "Yeah, f******* Karen McDonald. You're f***** when I get out." (Jail call on Dec. 20, 2023)
- "There will be retribution, believe me." (Jail message on Dec. 23, 2023)
- "I am f****** on a rampage, Karen. Yes, Karen McDonald. Your a** is going down and you better be f****** scared." (Jail call on Jan. 3, 2024)
READ: Recording from James Crumbley's threatening jail calls against prosecutor released
James Crumbley's jail communications were revoked on March 7, during his trial. After that form of communication was cut off, James Crumbley raised his middle finger to the prosecution in the courtroom.
The prosecution included a statement James Crumbley made during a presentencing interview to further back up the claim that he shows a total lack or remorse and disrespect for court proceedings:
"My son carried out a school shooting on Nov. 30th 2021. He was the ONLY one involved. I had no knowledge of what he was going to do, or presented with ANY warning signs. I absolutely had no knowledge that he had ever obtained access to my gun..."
"...I did NOT participate! I feel absolutely horrible/am devastated for what happened to those four children. I would give anything to go back and do something different that would have changed what happened..."
"...I have spent 2 years and 4 months in a county jail. The first 9 months I was locked in for 23 ½ hours a day. The rest of the time I've spent in a singleman cell 23 hours per day. I've only been allowed outside 10 times during this 2.4 yr period. I feel the Court should allow me time served..."
In another section, James Crumbley claimed he was "wrongly accused, and now wrongly convicted of Involuntary manslaughter."
"My actions were that of any other parent," he went on to say. "Ethan was a great kid. He never got in trouble at school, had decent grades, and very rarely got in trouble at home. And when he did get in minor trouble it was just about grades or assignments he needed to complete. Ethan always appeared to be a very stable individual. Never did he voice anything to me that anything was bothering him."
After maintaining that he had no idea what his son was going to do, he discussed the gun used in the shooting:
"I followed the law and took gun safety to the point as needed. My gun was hidden in a location that, until I found out differently, only I knew of. The bullets were also hidden. In a different location. I had no idea how he obtained access till the Psych doctor he met with at the forensics facility testified in his miller hearing (for the prosecution) that he snuck in my room to locate the gun, and then later snuck into my room to steal it. This information was provided in a report to the prosecution in March of 2022. She also concluded that he was not mentally ill. So the reasons I was charged have been concluded to not be true. Yet I'm still prosecuted as if they were. The prosecution has continued to lie even after having this information. And, they used this information against Ethan in his miller hearing. And then I was not allowed to use it in my defense. So my prosecution and conviction are based on lies, things my son said only to his friend, and emotions."
The father also expressed how bad he feels about what happened, "I feel horrible for what happened and would do anything to be able to go back in time and change it! But I can't. And I had nothing to do with what happened. I don't know why my son did what he did. He is the only one who knows."
The prosecution said that James Crumbley's "shameless lack of remorse" in asking for time served is a "slap in the face" to the victims and their families.
