The Oxford High School shooter was back in court for the third day of a pre-sentencing Miller hearing on Tuesday.
The hearing will determine if the shooter, who was a minor at the time of the shooting, can be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Psychologist Colin King sat in the witness box for the better part of the day, a key witness for the Oxford school shooter in his quest to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison.
"The part that sort of stood out for me was when he told his parents that he was hearing voices and he needed to see a therapist. I don’t know what 15-year-old raises his hand and says my brain hurts, I need to see a therapist...and it never happened," said King.
The defense today also played surveillance video from 2020 at an Oxford diner, where the gunman once worked. It showed the teen inexplicably falling and hitting his head on the floor. The defense suggested that he sustained a head injury that may have caused the behavior that followed.
"When Ethan fell in the diner and hit his head, and the owner said I need to call 911 and didn’t...I consider that physical abuse," said King.
After the shooting, they played bodycam video from the Oakland County jail, showing the Oxford gunman after the shooting yelling and crying.
“Why didn’t you stop it God? Why? Why didn’t you stop it? Why didn’t you stop it, God? Why didn’t you stop it? You let it happen. Why?” he said.
Dr. King said the video was proof of the shooter’s severe mental illness.
“Someone who’s saying 'God, why didn’t you stop it?' And that’s exactly how psychosis works. You engage in an action, and somehow you don’t understand the outcome of the consequences. He’s having a panic attack and a break with reality,” said King.
To secure a sentence less than life in prison, the defense needs to show that the gunman can be rehabilitated.
King said he believed there is a possibility of rehabilitation.
“Ethan’s brain is still maturing, and his brain will probably not reach full maturity for another 10 years,” said King
But prosecutors pushed back, attacking the doctor not just for what he put in his 70-page report about the gunman, but what he left out.
“Doctor, are you aware of when and how the defendant shot Justin Schilling?” asked the prosecutor
“I am not aware sir,” answered King.
Prosecutor: "Do you know how he asked Justin to get down on the ground and he executed him, are you aware of that?”
“I take your word for it, sir,” answered King.
“Does that matter to you?” asked prosecution.
“It does matter,” said King.
