Judge excludes texts between shooter, mother in James Crumbley's manslaughter trial
The school shooter's father is charged with four counts of manslaughter.
The jury in James Crumbley's manslaughter trial was dismissed early for the day on Thursday, with prosecutors and his defense attorney arguing before the judge over communications the father of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley had made from jail.
Ultimately, prosecutors and the defense agreed to limit his communications during trial to only speaking to his attorneys and conducting or participating in research related to his defense. It was not revealed what communications James Crumbley had made that prompted the disagreement.
Even before opening arguments got underway, the judge made a ruling to exclude from evidence texts between the shooter and his mother, Jennifer Crumbley. Judge Cheryl Matthews said she would not admit the texts -- which Ethan sent to his mother's phone while the couple was allegedly taking photos and ignoring his messages asking for help -- because there was no evidence that James Crumbley knew about them or saw them.
James Crumbley is facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter for his alleged role in the November 2021 shooting in which four students were killed and seven others were injured. Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17, were killed in the shooting.
His trial comes weeks after Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of the same four charges. She will be sentenced in April.
The cases are a rare instance of parents being charged in connection with a shooting carried out by their child.
Ethan Crumbley, who was only 15 years old at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to 24 counts including first-degree premeditated murder and terrorism causing death. He was sentenced to life without parole in December.
Matthews also excluded a series of text messages between Ethan Crumbley and a friend, sent on the day of the shooting, hinting that the shooting was going to take place.
"I'm about to do something really bad and there's no turning back, so I'll probably never be able to see you again," a portion of the message read.
During testimony from former Oxford police detective Edward Wagrowski, prosecutors revealed new evidence of what James Crumbley had been doing in the months leading up to the shooting and on the day of the shooting.
On the morning of the shooting, after James and Jennifer Crumbley went to the high school for a meeting with counselors, James Crumbley did not log on to DoorDash to work until 11 a.m., despite him telling school officials that he could not take his son home that morning because he was working, according to evidence gathered from his phone.
It was revealed in Jennifer Crumbley's trial that the parents had been asked to come to the school after the shooter had made concerning and violent drawings on a math test. After he spoke to a school counselor, the school asked the parents to come in for a meeting in which they told the parents that Ethan Crumbley needed immediate mental health care and that they were concerned he may harm himself.
However, both parents said they would be unable to take their son home that morning because they needed to return to work. Prosecutors disputed that explanation, telling the jury that James Crumbley had not even logged on to work for the day. Earlier in opening statements, prosecutors had argued that James Crumbley set his own hours as a DoorDash driver and could have taken his son with him in the car while he made deliveries. Jennifer Crumbley also testified during her trial that she could have left work.
Prosecutors also showed surveillance footage of James Crumbley after the meeting, holding a paper with a list of mental health facilities that could provide their son care as soon as that day. Wagrowski then testified that James Crumbley had not looked up the facilities that day.
A 911 call James Crumbley made after news of the shooting had spread, when he discovered that a gun was missing from their home, was also played in court by prosecutors. Crumbley -- who was audibly panicked on the call -- described to the operator what his son was wearing and asked that police head to his home immediately. James Crumbley identified his son as the suspected shooter, even though that information had not been made public by the police yet.
Prior to making the call to 911, he had tried to reach Ethan several times and had calls with his wife, prosecutors said. During one of the calls with Jennifer Crumbley, she sent a text message to her boss telling him that a gun and bullets were missing from their home, according to evidence.
Deleted messages exchanged between Jennifer Crumbley and a man who she was having an affair with, Brian Meloche, telling him they were "on the run again," were also presented to the jury on Thursday. Her affair with Meloche was revealed when he took the stand to testify in her trial, but had not previously been revealed to the jury in James Crumbley's trial.
The trial got underway in earnest Thursday after a jury was seated on Wednesday. The jury consists of nine women and six men.
In his opening statement, assistant prosecutor Marc Keast sought to place blame on James Crumbley, while telling the jury that the shooting was foreseeable and preventable.
"He was the adult -- out of anyone in the world -- in the best position to prevent these kids' deaths," Keast said.
James Crumbley, who bought the gun used in the shooting for his son just four days before the attack, did so despite knowing he was "in total and complete social isolation" prior to the shooting, Keast alleged.
The first witness to take the stand was Molly Darnell, an educator at Oxford High School, who was shot in the arm, giving emotional testimony about her barricading in her office during the shooting.
Darnell previously testified in a hearing for the shooter and during Jennifer Crumbley's trial. She recounted the day of the shooting, saying when she saw the bullet holes in the door of her classroom, she believed that Crumbley had tried to kill her, aiming for her head. Darnell said she texted her husband, "I love you. Active shooter."
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