PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — After her 15-year-old son opened fire on students and teachers inside Oxford High School, Jennifer Crumbley sent a text message to a friend saying she wished there had been warning signs.
But on day two of Crumbley's trial, prosecutors tried to show the jury that Jennifer Crumbley and her husband had all the warning signs they needed to stop their son from carrying out the school massacre before it happened.
Only one witness took the stand Friday, a forensic computer analyst who began the day detailing surveillance videos from school cameras that showed the shooter moving through the school on November 30, 2021, firing the 9 mm SIG Sauer handgun his parents gifted him for Christmas that year.
Edward Wagrowski testified that the shooter appeared to be proud and excited as he began his rampage that killed Madisyn Baldwin, Justin Shilling, Hana St. Juliana, and Tate Myre.
The shooter, who pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to life in prison, will not be testifying in his mother's trial due to matters involving an appeal.
With Wagrowski on the stand, prosecutors had him detail texts and Facebook messages in an effort to show Jennifer Crumbley was a mother who was detached and even dismissive of her son's mental health struggles and more concerned with her two horses.
In texts sent on March 20, 2021, Crumbley's son told her, "I finished picking up the room. I cleaned until the clothes started flying off the shelves. This stuff only happens when I'm home alone."
Jennifer Crumbley did not respond to that text. And when Marc Keast, an assistant prosecutor, asked Wagrowski to testify to where Jennifer and James Crumbley were at the time when she didn't respond to their son, he replied, "They were riding the horses again."
Crumbley's defense attorney Shannon Smith asked Wagrowski if he knew that there were phone connection issues near the barn. He said he did not.
When prosecutors conclude with their witnesses, Jennifer Crumbley is expected to take the stand in her own defense.
The trial for James Crumbley is set to take place at a later date.
Both remain in custody.
