PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — After the murders of their children in November 2021 at Oxford High School, families of victims are expressing more grief and anger at the end of an important hearing. The Miller hearing will help determine whether or not the shooter will spend life in prison without parole for admitting to killing 4 and wounding others.
Inside court, families of victims broke down several times during final witness testimony, and, after closing arguments, more emotions came out.
“We don’t have any closure or answers for that day,” said parent Buck Myre. “These are kids. 4 kids that were murdered. 7 shot. Hundreds terrorized.”
Reflecting on the deaths of Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, and Justin Shilling, prosecution witness Dr. Lisa Anacker, a trained forensic psychiatrist, said the defendant is not mentally ill based on evidence and interviews about the premeditated attack which he planned to survive.
“What we don’t see is any signs of bizarre behavior, disorganized speech, responding to internal stimuli. I can understand how it’s difficult to imagine how a sane person can commit mass murder, but research shows mental illness doesn’t account for most of the violence in our country,” said Dr. Anacker.
However, the defense focused on what they call evidence to the contrary.
“His brain was on fire. The journal, texts, searches, bird videos, ramblings are all indicative of mental illness. With proper intervention from school staff, counselors, and parents, this could have been stopped.” said defense attorney Paulette Loftin.
The prosecutor in closing arguments made the case for the horrific crime warranting the harshest sentence.
“These acts were carried out in a cold and calculated manner. They were intended to have a devastating effect on as many people as he could. He only stopped because there was no one left to shoot. You saw the video,” said Prosecutor Karen McDonald.
The judge plans to issue a decision on Sept. 29th on Zoom. The sentencing is set for December 8th in person.
