OXFORD, Mich. – Attorneys for James and Jennifer Crumbley have filed a motion in an effort to stop Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald from sending email updates on their case to Oxford High School parents.
The attorneys say McDonald is making unfair statements about their clients, and that only the families of the students killed qualify as victims in the case against the Crumbley parents, not the rest of the students who were terrorized that day.
“I was in disbelief that they could possibly say there’s only four families that are the victims that deserve updates like that,” said parent Lori Bourgeau.
Parents walking into the Oxford school board meeting on Tuesday night told Local 4 that the updates from McDonald’s office have been beneficial and are widely discussed by parents. According to the filing, that is part of the problem, per the Crumbley legal team: Some of the emails end up on social media.
Read: Parents of accused Oxford shooter ask Michigan Supreme Court to dismiss their case
Jennifer and James Crumbley have each been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors maintain that the Crumbleys did not get help for their troubled son Ethan Crumbley, and instead created a home life that exacerbated his problems and bought him a gun -- which he is accused of using to shoot 11 people on Nov. 30, 2021.
“People lost their children here,” said parent Andrea Jones. “This is not a game. We’re looking at the 1-year anniversary next month, and we need to start moving ahead with the trials, and we need to start getting the answers we deserve, and that includes everybody. We’re all victims here.”