PONTIAC, Mich. – The first day of the trial has already been surprising and emotional for Jennifer Crimbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter.
Crumbley’s defense has made a critical promise about what jurors would see and hear as testimony has begun.
The trial started dramatically on Thursday (Jan. 25) in Pontiac as it is unprecedented to have a parent charged in a school shooting that their child carried out.
Oakland County officials announced on Monday that Crumbley would be tried first. Her husband, James Crumbley’s trial is expected to begin in early March.
Jennifer and James are both facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter charges, and they were initially supposed to be tried together.
A judge granted the request for separate trials for the parents in November.
The prosecutor claims Jennifer Crumbley had opportunities to prevent the tragedy at Oxford High School.
On the contrary, the defense portrays a mother who never saw it coming and reacted with shock at her son’s behavior that day.
Local 4 learned the prosecution plans to call between 20 and 25 witnesses and present more than 400 exhibits of evidence in the trial for involuntary manslaughter.
The defense said Jennifer Crumbly intends to take the witness stand to explain her relationships with her husband and son in her own words.
The manslaughter charges stem from the deaths of four Oxford High School students: Hana St. Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17.
Prosecutors will try to prove that Jennifer and James failed to take steps that could have prevented their son from opening fire in the hallways of the high school.
If convicted, they would be the first parents of a United States mass shooter to be charged in connection with their child’s crimes.
Their son, who was the shooter, was sentenced in December 2023 to life in prison without the chance of parole.
Click here if you missed Thursday’s testimony.
