PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — The trial of Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, started Thursday morning with opening statements from the prosecution and defense.
In November of 2021, four students were killed when the shooter opened fire in the school: Tate Myre, Madisyn Baldwin, Justin Shilling and Hana St. Juliana. The shooter also injured several others.
The Oxford High School shooter, a classmate, was convicted and sentenced to life without parole in December.
Jennifer Crumbley is now facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the role law enforcement says she and her husband, James, played in providing the then-15-year-old with the murder weapon.
Prosecutors in the case say 20 to 25 witnesses will testify, including law enforcement, Oxford High School staff and victims.
Jurors will also see nearly 400 pieces of evidence.
Prosecutors say the evidence will show that Jennifer Crumbley was grossly negligent and responsible for the deaths of the four students.
Watch the full opening statements below:
Thursday was an emotional day in court. The prosecution is working to prove Jennifer was aware of her son's mental state and had the opportunity to prevent the shooting but didn't.
They're also working to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Jennifer Crumbley allowed easy access to the gun prosecutors say was brought for him and failed to say anything about that gun when school officials showed her a drawing of it hours before the shooting.
They say her son also wrote on paper, "The thoughts won't stop. Help me."
"She immediately began to downplay and downright lie about her level of knowledge of her son and that weapon and that drawing on November the 30th. This pattern will continue up until the time that she and her husband are found hiding from police in Detroit," Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast said.
Prosecutors presented several videos to try to show that Jennifer Crumbley was very much aware of her son's experience as well as access to guns.
“She did not have it on her radar in any way that there was any mental disturbance, that her son would ever take a gun into a school, that her son would ever shoot people,” defense attorney Shannon Smith said.
During the opening statements, the defense refuted this and said there was no way Jennifer Crumbley could have known what her son planned to do.
In fact, the defense described Crumbley as a "hyper vigilant mother" and said she didn't recognize who her son had become by the time of the shooting.
As the opening statements continued, the prosecution said, “Jennifer Crumbley didn't pull the trigger that day, but she is responsible for the death of those kids.”
Four witnesses took the stand Thursday, including a teacher who was shot in the school, the school's assistant principal, the store clerk who sold the firearm used in the shooting to James Crumbley and a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
"I lock eyes with him and instantly see that movement and I jumped to the side," teacher Molly Darnell said.
Darnell was the first witness and described the moments the shooter raised the gun to her before taking off to injure and kill others in the high school and the text message she sent to another educator alerting them about what was happening.
“'Hey, you're the only one that knows right now, but I’ve been shot… I hope I'm the only one,'” Darnell recalled of a text message. "I texted husband 'I love you. Active shooter.' And then I started feeling blood dripping down my arm."
“(The shooter) then came into closer view and I could tell it was (him),” Oxford High School Assistant Principal Kristy Gibson-Marshall said.
At one point during the trial Thursday, Jennifer Crumbley and her attorney became emotional after watching a video shown in court.
Tensions rose as Prosecutor Karen McDonald addressed it with the judge, saying they were instructed not to show emotion.
“We were not sobbing or making a scene,” the defense attorney retorted. "It's horrific that's why we asked them not to play it."
Following a lunch break, the prosecution spent much of the afternoon gathering testimony from Special Agent Brett Brandon, who works with the ATF.
Brandon described the weapon used in the shooting, weapons recovered from the home of the Crumbleys and targets found in the shooter's bedroom.
Brandon spoke about a lock for the firearm, which appeared to be unused. The special agent also talked about surveillance footage from the school, where, in his opinion, it was clear that the shooter was proficient in shooting and had the opportunity to practice.
"... there's an Instagram story that said (her son) and James Crumbley both got handguns this week, testing them out at the range," Brandon said. "So the first video, the shooter's shooting a Keltec pistol."
“Mom and son day. Testing his new Christmas present. My first time shooting a 9mm. I hit the bullseye,” Brandon said reading another Instagram post.
While we were allowed to show Jennifer Crumbley and her son at the gun range three days before the school shooting, we were not allowed to record the surveillance video from inside Oxford High School the day of the incident.
Jennifer Crumbley did not take the stand on Thursday but is expected to do so at some point during the trial. The prosecution will continue with their witnesses on Friday.
