Jury deliberations continue in trial of James Crumbley, father of Oxford High School shooter
(CBS DETROIT) - Jury deliberations continue Thursday in the trial of James Crumbley, father of the Oxford High School shooter.
The trial moved quickly Wednesday, as the prosecution rested their case, and the defense called just one witness, the sister of James Crumbley, to the stand.
Closing arguments were given and concluded Wednesday afternoon, and jury deliberations began. Jurors will continue to deliberate on Thursday.
James Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the Oxford High School shooting where his son killed four students, Justin Shilling, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, and Hana St. Juliana, and injured seven other people on Nov. 30, 2021.
A jury found his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, guilty of the same charges in February. Her sentencing is scheduled for April 9. Their son was sentenced to life in prison without parole in December 2023.
James and Jennifer Crumbley are the first parents in the U.S. being held responsible for the actions of a child in carrying out a mass school shooting.
Closing arguments in trial of James Crumbley
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald gave her closing argument and said that James Crumbley needs to be held responsible for the Oxford High School shooting for being grossly negligent, while the defense argued that he was not aware that his son had access to the gun or was going to carry out the shooting.
"James Crumbley is not on trial for what his son did," McDonald said. "James Crumbley is on trial for what he did and what he didn't do."
The prosecution argued that Crumbley bought the Sig Sauer 9mm gun for his son and failed to store it properly. During her closing argument, she showed the photo of the cable lock still in its packaging to the jury.
The father is also accused of not getting his son the help he needed for his mental health struggles despite his calls for help.
"He failed to perform his legal duty to prevent these kids from being killed, and he failed their parents, too," McDonald said. "And I ask that you find him guilty."
Defense attorney Mariell Lehman said the prosecution's case showed no evidence that James Crumbley was aware that the shooter knew where the guns were hidden or that he was aware of his son's mental health help.
She said James Crumbley wouldn't have known about the issues his son wrote in his journal or sent in text messages to his friend.
"Please, follow the law. Review the evidence, review the instructions, and follow the law. Because I'm confident that if you do that, each of you will have at least one reasonable doubt and your vote will be not guilty. And your vote should be not guilty, not just because you have reasonable doubt, but because James Crumbley is not guilty," Lehman said as she concluded her argument.
Sister of James Crumbley testifies
On Wednesday, the defense only called one witness to the stand. That person was Karen Crumbley, the sister of James Crumbley.
Karen Crumbley lived in Florida and testified that she saw her nephew, the shooter, twice in 2021.
She saw him in April 2021, when the family went to Florida for about a week while her mother was hospitalized.
Karen Crumbley said while her nephew was there, she didn't see anything concerning about him, and her brother didn't say anything about being worried about his son.
In June 2021, Karen Crumbley said she traveled to Michigan to visit her brother and his family, and said she didn't recall seeing anything concerning with her nephew at this time either.
During her cross-examination, Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast asked Karen Crumbley about her relationship with her brother and questioned how close they actually were.
Karen Crumbley said she would talk to her brother about once a month, but Keast argued that phone records show they communicated far less than that.
Keast said throughout 2021, there were two Facebook calls and 22 messages between them.
