PONTIAC, Mich. — Prosecutors in the trial of Jennifer Crumbley rested their case Thursday after a week of intense testimony from more than 20 witnesses, and text message and police video evidence — intended to show that the Michigan woman knew of her teenage son’s mental state and access to a gun and yet neglected to act on the day he committed a mass shooting in 2021.
Crumbley’s involuntary manslaughter trial is a rare case of charges being brought against the parent of a school shooter.
Earlier Thursday, the jury heard excerpts from Ethan Crumbley’s journals in which he wrote, “My parents won’t listen to me about help or a therapist,” expressed his desire to “shoot up” his school and said he was going to get a 9 mm pistol, which his parents would help the then-15-year-old buy days before the shooting.
Crumbley, 45, later put her head down and sobbed as school surveillance video of the shooting was played for jurors. Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Detective Lt. Tim Willis, who investigated the shooting, was in tears on the stand as he explained what was shown.
During cross-examination, Willis agreed that investigators had no evidence that Crumbley had known about her son’s journals.
Ethan Crumbley would go on to kill four students and injure several others at Oxford High School. He pleaded guilty as an adult to murder, terrorism and other crimes, and was sentenced in December to life in prison without parole. His new legal team had suggested the possibility of appealing the sentence, and Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews reiterated Thursday that he does not have to testify for the defense after his lawyers said he would refuse to answer questions on the stand.
The prosecution has tried to portray Crumbley, 45, as a neglectful mother who was aware of her son’s mental health issues and failed to intervene, while giving him access to firearms and caring more about her horses than his well-being. The defense has highlighted exchanges attempting to show she did…
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