OXFORD, Mich. – The trial for Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the teenage boy who killed four people during a shooting at Oxford High School, continued Friday. We have full updates from Day 2 inside the courtroom.
After two days of jury selection, Thursday began with opening statements as prosecutors tried to prove that Crumbley shares blame in the November 2021 shooting that took the lives of four students. Only one witness’ testimony was heard on Friday, as he was on the stand for all 6-7 hours that court was in session.
Here are some quick facts heading into the trial:
- Jennifer and James Crumbley are both facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with their son’s mass shooting. Those charges stem from the deaths of 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, and 17-year-old Justin Shilling.
- The Crumbley parents were originally going to be tried together, but they asked for separate trials in November, and a judge granted their request.
- Defense attorneys Shannon Smith and Shaun Godwin represent Jennifer Crumbley. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast represent the people. Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl A. Matthews is hearing the case.
- The shooter was sentenced in December to life in prison without the chance of parole.
Click here to read Thursday’s full list of updates. Click here if you want to watch the proceedings live.
Here are all the updates from Day 2 of the trial:
Shouting match
- 5:01 p.m. Friday
The proceedings escalated to a shouting match when Smith said the prosecutors were the ones “parading” the evidence in front of everyone.
Criticism of jokes in courtroom
- 4:58 p.m. Friday
Prosecutors asked for counsel to be reprimanded for jokes about drinking bottles of win and “killing herself.”
Smith said, “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“And she can stop yelling,” McDonald said.
McDonald said this case is hard enough without that type of behavior.
Matthews also said that was partly her fault because she first brought up the wine.
McDonald said she just wants counsel to be respectful.
Smith said that implies she’s being disrespectful.
Plans for next week
- 4:56 p.m. Friday
Court will resume Monday morning. Matthews mentioned proceedings resuming at 9 a.m.
Smith, McDonald, Keast battle after jury’s dismissal
- 4:52 p.m. Friday
Smith, McDonald, and Keast continued to argue about evidence, objections, and exhibit lists after the jury had been dismissed.
Smith reiterated that she’s only one person. The judge said they’ve all been pulling long hours for this case.
Defense has future objections
- 4:47 p.m. Friday
Smith said she has multiple objections to many of the exhibits an officer is going to be testifying about later in the case. That officer is a witness for the prosecution.
She made sure she was still on the record before making this point.
She said the evidence wasn’t identified to her until after Day 1 of jury selection. Keast said the digital evidence was turned over years ago. She said it wasn’t identified to her until last week.
Karen McDonald said a detailed list was provided to the defense. Smith said she tells Keast, and just because McDonald doesn’t know doesn’t mean she isn’t adequately communicating.
“That is just misleading and I’m tired of it,” Smith said.
Judge dismisses jury
- 4:46 p.m. Friday
Matthews immediately allowed the jury to leave after the redirect ended. She reminded them not to discuss the case or read any news coverage.
Redirect ends
- 4:45 p.m. Friday
Keast completed his redirect of Wagrowski.
Receiving messages from shooter
- 4:42 p.m. Friday
Keast also shot down Smith’s assertion that Jennifer Crumbley might not have seen her son’s text messages until long after he sent them by saying she would have had to use her phone to take the pictures.
He also said the time of the messages on the phones match, so it is possible to know that the messages had been sent and received.
Messages about horses vs. messages about shooter
- 4:41 p.m. Friday
“I would say there was a vast majority of just discussing their horses,” Wagrowski said.
If he had to put a number on it, he said from early 2021 up through the shooting, Wagrowski believes 75-80% of the conversations they had were about horses.
Keast claims there were thousands more references to the horses in the conversations between the Crumbley parents than references to their son.
Admitting full Facebook conversation
- 4:36 p.m. Friday
Keast moved to admit the entire Facebook message exchange between Jennifer and James Crumbley. Smith said she had no objection as long as the topics that need to be redacted aren’t included.
No messages about therapy
- 4:34 p.m. Friday
Keast clarified that there were no messages from the Crumbley parents about taking the shooter to counseling or a therapist.
Redirect: Edward Wagrowski
- 4:31 p.m. Friday
Keast began his redirect of Wagrowski by establishing that Jennifer Crumbley knew how to delete messages.
Cross examination ends
- 4:30 p.m. Friday
Smith ended her cross examination of Wagrowski.
Deleting messages
- 4:29 p.m. Friday
Smith said in regard to Jennifer Crumbley deleting over 4,000 messages that were exchanged with her friend, there’s no explanation in any texts about why they were deleted. Wagrowski agreed.
‘Don’t do it’ text message
- 4:26 p.m. Friday
Smith said at the time Jennifer Crumbley sent the message that said, “(The shooter’s name) don’t do it,” nobody else knows what was going on in her head. Smith said they don’t know what Jennifer Crumbley knew at the time she sent that text to the shooter.
Messages on day of shooting
- 4:22 p.m. Friday
Smith said Jennifer Crumbley sent messages to a friend and her boss about something going on with her son. Wagrowski agreed.
After she returned to work, Jennifer Crumbley became aware of the active shooter situation at Oxford High School.
Smith said there aren’t more messages from Nov. 30 from Jennifer Crumblety that the jury hasn’t seen. Her point was that there were no messages that said anything like, “I think he might shoot someone.”
Meeting at Oxford High School
- 4:17 p.m. Friday
Smith pointed out that Wagrowski didn’t collect messages from the other people who were in the meeting at the school the morning of the shooting.
He said that’s not something computer crimes would do.
Smith pulled up the math sheet the shooter had drawn on. She said when Jennifer Crumbley received the photo of the math sheet, she immediately messaged her husband and took action.
Smith pointed out that the meeting lasted for only about 12 minutes.
“We don’t have any kind of record or recording of that meeting in the counselor’s office,” Smith said.
Keast objects to cross examination
- 4:15 p.m. Friday
Keast criticized Smith for simply reading back through evidence that’s already been brought up. Smith said when she doesn’t go step by step, her questions aren’t being answered.
The judge said go back through step by step, then.
Shooter researches bullets in school
- 4:09 p.m. Friday
Smith said the voicemail left by the counselor didn’t ask Jennifer Crumbley to call back.
“At the end of the voicemail, (the counselor) says, ‘It’s perfectly normal and healthy,’” Smith said. “The content of that conversation did not ask Mrs. Crumbley to come over to the school or anything like that, correct?”
Wagrowski agreed.
Smith said Jennifer Crumbley texted her son about researching bullets in school. He told her that he was just curious, using the phrase “completely harmless.”
Internet search
- 4:07 p.m. Friday
Smith also brought up Jennifer Crumbley’s internet search about treatment for clinical depression. She said Wagrowski can’t know whether she was searching for that information for herself, for her son, or for someone else.
Wagrowski agreed he can’t know for sure, he just knows what she searched.
Prosecution objects to questions
- 4:04 p.m. Friday
Keast stood and objected to Smith questioning Wagrowski about evidence that was brought up during ATF Special Agent Brett Brandon’s testimony on the previous day.
Jennifer Crumbley with shooter at range
- 4:03 p.m. Friday
Smith reminded Wagrowski about the evidence that showed Jennifer Crumbley and the shooter going to a shooting range on Nov. 27, 2021 -- the day after the gun was purchased and three days before the school shooting.
Smith said Wagrowski doesn’t know anything about the transportation of the gun or how it was held at the home between its purchase and the trip to the gun range.
Wagrowski agreed that he didn’t find any messages about where the gun was kept.
Smith was trying to establish that there’s no clear proof that the gun wasn’t properly handled.
Video with gun
- 4:02 p.m. Friday
Smith also established that while there was a video of the shooter with the SIG Sauer gun on the day of its purchase, it’s impossible to see whether there’s anyone else in the room with him.
Wagrowski agreed that all he can tell from the video is that the shooter took a video of himself with the gun.
More texts between mothers
- 3:58 p.m. Friday
Smith said Jennifer Crumbley made representations about her son using the word “depressed.” The next set of texts with the shooter’s friend’s mother that were shown in court came about six months later.
These texts began in October 2021 and discussed the fact that the friend’s family had to move out of state.
After the shooting, Jennifer Crumbley messaged the other mother about receiving threats over social media, according to Smith.
Text exchange between mothers
- 3:54 p.m. Friday
Smith next asked Wagrowski about the April 29, 2021, text thread between Jennifer Crumbley and the shooter’s friend’s mother.
The conversation began with Jennifer Crumbley saying her son wasn’t going to go to bowling and that he had been acting depressed.
Smith pointed out that Jennifer Crumbley didn’t talk about her son being paranoid or hallucinating. Keast objected to a question about what it means to be depressed and the judge said depression can mean something different to different people.
Smith said that was going to be her point, that Wagrowski can’t say for sure what Jennifer Crumbley meant when she said her son was acting depressed.
Judge interjects
- 3:52 p.m. Friday
“Is there any evidence that the friend shared anything with the parents?” Matthews interjected.
“Not that I know of,” Wagrowski answered.
Prosecution frustrated by line of questioning
- 3:51 p.m. Friday
Keast again raised the issue of Smith using evidence she didn’t want shown in court to create ambiguity around the messages used by the prosecution.
In other words, the prosecution accused the defense of arguing against the relevance of certain messages to keep those messages from getting to the jury, but then turning around and using the absence of those messages to say the text messages that were used don’t paint a full picture.
April 4 messages
- 3:47 p.m. Friday
Smith referenced messages from April 4, 2021, between the shooter and his friend. She said there’s no evidence that Jennifer Crumbley ever saw those text messages or knew they existed.
Smith said if Wagrowski had discovered evidence that Jennifer Crumbley knew about those text messages between her son and his friend, it would have been shown in court. Wagrowski agreed.
When the shooter told his friend that he wanted to go to the doctor, there’s no evidence that he actually did want to go or that he told his parents he wanted to go, according to Smith.
“You have no idea if Mrs. Crumbley ever saw these texts between the shooter and his friend,” Smith said. She also said there’s no context outside the text thread between the shooter and his friend.
March messages
- 3:45 p.m. Friday
On March 20, the shooter was making claims that things were happening when he was home alone, such as items flying off the shelf. The evidence didn’t show any response from Jennifer Crumbley.
Smith made a more overarching point.
“We can agree from March 8-20 that we’re talking about a period of time that is about 12 days long,” Smith said, referencing her cross examination of Wagrowski so far.
Smith makes point about messages
- 3:43 p.m. Friday
Smith was finally able to get to her point once the exhibits were organized.
She established that the shooter had clearly slept in his parents’ room the night before and that there had been some sort of issue. Wagrowski agreed.
Smith said Wagrowski doesn’t know what had happened in the Crumbley household the night before. He agreed.
Exhibits cause confusion
- 3:40 p.m. Friday
Smith tried a line of questioning about messages in March, but confusion and logistical issues kept coming up and the evidence was not in order.
She also needed to show a redacted piece of evidence that could only be shown by the prosecution. So Keast clicked through some of the messages for her.
At one point, Smith said, “I’m going to kill myself,” and asked for a few minutes to get her exhibits organized. She was clearly frustrated that the disorganization of the exhibits was keeping her from making her point.
Texts about shooter waking up apparently hung over
- 3:34 p.m. Friday
Smith asked Wagrowski about the texts and Facebook messages from March 17-20, 2021, when the Crumbleys were discussing their son waking up apparently hung over. The shooter had also texted about cleaning a room and that clothes started flying off shelves.
Jennifer Crumbley said she was going to get drunk and ride her horse, then said she hates her job.
Before Smith could get to her point, the exhibits got mixed up.
Judge calls timeout
- 3:31 p.m. Friday
Matthews stopped Smith and asked her to disassemble a tall stack of papers before it falls over, calling it the “Leaning Tower of Pisa.”
The judge told Smith she doesn’t want her to have to spend the whole weekend re-organizing all her documents, saying she should instead drink a glass of wine in her sweatpants.
“I’m going to drink five bottles of wine,” Smith joked.
‘You need to be really careful’
- 3:29 p.m. Friday
Keast said all of the messages are admissible, and the defense doesn’t want it all to be.
“I think you need to be really careful,” Matthews said to Smith.
Matthews said she doesn’t want the jury thinking that there is evidence that they can’t see.
“I don’t want you to think anything’s being hidden,” Matthews said. “I don’t think that’s a fair characterization.”
Keast asked the court to tell the defense that she can’t ask for certain evidence not to be admissible and then use the fact that it’s not admissible to make her case.
Judge jokes about length of questioning
- 3:26 p.m. Friday
Judge Matthews commented on the length of the conversation about the messages between Jennifer Crumbley and her husband.
“I’m starting to think it might be shorter to ask the jury to read that whole stack,” Matthews said.
Facebook messages regarding son
- 3:25 p.m. Friday
Smith is trying to show that the Facebook messages shown in court are the ones handpicked to try to prove a case, and not all of the messages.
She said there are Facebook messages among the thousands exchanged between the Crumbleys that discuss their son but haven’t been read in court.
Going through Facebook messages
- 3:23 p.m. Friday
Wagrowski said he reviewed thousands of Facebook messages between the Crumbley parents.
Smith clarified that he went through those messages and found the evidence that’s been admitted into the trial. Wagrowski said that’s correct.
“Obviously, if there were texts between Jennifer and James that said, ‘I think (the shooter’s) psychotic,’ you would have brought that into court, correct?” Smith asked.
Wagrowski said yes.
“In prepping for a trial, you bring the ones that are making the point that you’re trying to make,” Smith said. “You go through all of them and pick out the ones that you consider important.”
Wagrowski agreed.
More text message questions
- 3:19 p.m. Friday
Smith brought up the text messages between the shooter’s parents on March 8, 2021 -- the day before the parents went to the horse barn while the shooter was messaging them about someone being in their house.
This was the text message exchange that started with Jennifer Crumbley asking if the shooter was going to bowling. She later asked why her son wasn’t home yet.
Smith pointed out that Jennifer Crumbley was “freaking out” about the shooter not having returned home from school yet. Jennifer Crumbley also told her husband that she told him to pick her up from school.
Smith said her client was working at her office in West Bloomfield while her husband was working as a DoorDash drive.
“It would appear from this text message threatd that Jennifer is voicing concern about (her son),” Smith said. Wagrowski hesitantly agreed.
Cross examination resumes
- 3:14 p.m. Friday
Smith resumed her cross examination of Wagrowski.
Jennifer Crumbley returns
- 3:12 p.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley returned to the courtroom.
When court returns
- 3:02 p.m. Friday
Cross examination of Edward Wagrowski will resume once court returns from break. He began his testimony before 9:15 a.m. and has been on the stand the entire time court has been in session Friday.
Court takes break
- 2:52 p.m. Friday
The court took a break. Matthews said court will resume at 3:05 p.m.
Defense points to holes in text message evidence
- 2:44 p.m. Friday
Smith argued that from a text message conversation, Wagrowski can’t say for sure that the Crumbley parents didn’t speak to their son in another way, such as a phone call from their workplace or meeting him in person.
Smith said the only people who would know for sure would be the Crumbleys, if they could even remember that day.
“They would be the only people who truly know what they spoke about or didn’t speak about on that day,” Smith said.
“That’s correct,” Wagrowski said.
Smith also pointed out that there’s no way to know when Jennifer Crumbley read the texts from her son.
“You have no idea if Jennifer Crumbley checked her phone,” she said.
“I don’t know the time they were read, no,” Smith said.
She said there are a number of possible things that could have happened in between the texts.
Smith also asked if Wagrowski is aware of how strong the cell signal was out at the horse barn. She said it’s possible that those texts weren’t being received as soon as they were sent.
Testimony from March 9, 2021
- 2:43 p.m. Friday
Smith also asked Wagrowski about his extensive testimony about March 9, 2021. That was one of the days the Crumbley parents made plans to go out to the barn for horse riding.
Wagrowski’s testimony included evidence that they talked about going to the barn and photos of them on horseback.
That was also the date the shooter sent texts about someone being in the house.
Smith said Jennifer Crumbley had asked her son if he was home at 3:17 p.m. and didn’t get a response. At 7:50, the shooter responded asking her to come home.
Deleted messages
- 2:39 p.m. Friday
“Some people may delete texts when they get them,” Smith said. “Some people may keep every text they’ve ever had. ... If someone gets a new phone, there are occasions when the old texts might not come up on the new phone.”
Smith said the ways people keep or delete text messages are individual to each person. She said Wagrowski has never sat down and talked with Jennifer Crumbley about her habits for deleting old photos and texts.
Instagram questions
- 2:36 p.m. Friday
Smith also got Wagrowski to agree that if the shooter had posted something at Instagram but Jennifer Crumbley didn’t check Instagram, she might not have seen those pictures.
Wagrowski agreed that he can’t tell for sure that Jennifer Crumbley had seen certain posts unless she commented on them or interacted with them.
Smith said there’s no doubt the shooter likes guns and that Jennifer Crumbley posted photos of guns. But there’s no way to know for sure whether the shooter saw her posts or whether she saw his posts.
Smith gets through line of questioning
- 2:34 p.m. Friday
After going back and forth with Wagrowski without making much progress, Smith got through a successful line of questioning about shutting down social media accounts.
She said if someone wanted to stop other people from being able to see what you’re doing and stop them from sending messages to you, deactivating your account would be a way to stop them from doing so through that site.
Wagrowski agreed.
Social media accounts
- 2:31 p.m. Friday
Smith said it’s clear that Jennifer Crumbley was trying to delete and deactivate social media accounts. She was asking others questions about whether they could still see her and her husband’s accounts.
Smith said Jennifer Crumbley was telling someone that she was “shutting things down.” She walked step-by-step through how deactivating social media accounts stops people from seeing your account or sending messages.
She was trying to establish that Jennifer Crumbley deactivated and deleted her accounts not to hide her old messages, but to stop people from sending her threats and mean messages.
Hotel details
- 2:28 p.m. Friday
Smith said the Crumbleys went to one hotel the night of the shooting and a different one the night after. She said those hotels were within an hour and they didn’t leave the state or the country.
She said they didn’t return to their home, and Wagrowski said they haven’t been home at all since the day of the shooting.
Defense strategy
- 2:25 p.m. Friday
It appears Smith is trying to establish that Wagrowski can’t really know the context of the Crumbleys’ lives just by reading the worst of their messages.
She is also trying to suggest that the Crumbleys were in physical danger after the shooting and very worried about the public backlash to what their son had done.
Coming to horse barn
- 2:22 p.m. Friday
The woman told Jennifer Crumbley it would be best not to come out to the barn and said she should be escorted by police if she does come.
“Seriously? Those horses are the only thing that is good in my life right now,” Jennifer Crumbley wrote.
“I 100% understand that,” the other woman wrote. “But we all need to be careful.”
Smith asked if being escorted by police generally means someone is in danger. He agreed.
Smith continues through messages
- 2:19 p.m. Friday
Smith continued to go through the messages between Jennifer Crumbley and the other woman.
“I wish we had warnings,” Jennifer Crumbley said. “Something. He’s a good kid they made a terrible decisions. I’m glad Billy good. Kills me to sell him.”
“The hallucinations could have been a warning,” Wagrowski said.
Smith said he doesn’t know the Crumbleys and he has referenced the hallucinations multiple times. She said it isn’t relevant whether he would have done something differently.
“I absolutely would have,” Wagrowski said.
‘Ruined so many lives’
- 2:17 p.m. Friday
“I’m bawling right now, my son ruined so many lives today,” Jennifer Crumbley sent.
Smith and Wagrowski both agreed that the shooter did ruin many lives that day.
“OK thanks for not judging unlike the whole world,” Jennifer Crumbley later wrote.
Smith said her client was clearly feeling judged by the whole world.
Aftermath
- 2:14 p.m. Friday
Smith was trying to establish that the Crumbleys were receiving what could be perceived as threats -- or at least “nasty” messages -- after the shooting.
“It’s fair to say that Jennifer and James are afraid of the public’s reaction to what their son did,” Smith said.
Threats
- 2:12 p.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley sent the other woman a screenshot of messages she had received.
“Rot in jail next to him,” one said.
“What a shame on you,” another said.
“F--- your ugly a-- kid, I hope...” another said.
“What a f------ coward,” another said.
Jennifer Crumbley told the other woman that she can’t go home. The other woman said she was concerned for the Crumbley parents’ safety.
More messages
- 2:10 p.m. Friday
Smith said Jennifer Crumbley told the woman who tends to her horses that she needs to sell her horses.
“My head is spinning right now,” she said. “Is 8 too much?”
She also talked about selling her house. The other woman said she would take care of the horses.
“Already seen some stuff on Facebook people are figuring out what’s going on,” the other woman said.
“I’m off FB. I’m still in shock,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“I cannot believe people on Facebook,” the other woman said. “I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with this stuff.”
Defense goes back through exhibits
- 2:07 p.m. Friday
Smith displayed a screenshot showing threats that Jennifer Crumbley had received after the shooting. Wagrowski said he didn’t specifically remember seeing that, so Smith said she feels she had to go through the entire exhibit.
It’s a 28-page exhibit.
Deleting social media accounts
- 2:03 p.m. Friday
Smith asked if the Crumbleys deleted social media accounts while they were going through their different phones. Wagrowski said he knew that they had received messages telling them to do so.
Burner phones
- 2:03 p.m. Friday
Smith said after the Crumbley parents bought burner phones, they went to their cellphone carrier and got phones with their actual phone numbers.
So the six cellphones include their original phones that were given to police, two burner phones (one each), and the two new phones they purchased so that they could have their phone numbers back.
Smith asks about selection of text messages
- 1:59 p.m. Friday
Smith asked Wagrowski about picking out specific text messages, like when he was hallucinating or seeing demons in the house.
Wagrowski said those were the relevant pieces of information, and that’s why he included them in his investigation. Smith said he’s just guessing at what the picture of this family looked like and he can’t truly know through text messages.
Defense questions slivers of information
- 1:57 p.m. Friday
One of the primary arguments by the defense is that the prosecution uses “slivers of information” to try to paint an inaccurate picture of a much bigger story.
Smith continued along that line of questioning with Wagrowski.
“You’ve given us bits of information about certain days,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of other dates that you did not give us information about what exactly was texted to and from (the shooter) and Mrs. Crumbley, correct?”
Defense’s argument
- 1:53 p.m. Friday
Smith said Wagrowski couldn’t be aware of what conversations were happening within the Crumbley household before the shooting.
Smith also said there’s no evidence that Jennifer Crumbley has seen the text messages between the shooter and his friend. She said just because the shooter said he was going to ask to go to the doctor, it doesn’t mean that he actually did ask his parents.
Collecting data
- 1:49 p.m. Friday
Smith clarified with Wagrowski that he didn’t have the data from the Crumbleys’ phones on the date of the shooting. He said it can take a few days or even weeks to receive all the materials he was looking for after the shooting.
Wagrowski agreed that as more and more information became available, he learned more about the case and turned it in to the prosecutor’s office.
Smith said between the shooting and Jennifer Crumbley’s arrest the night of Dec. 3 into Dec. 4, police would have been working on collecting evidence, but they hadn’t seen it all. Wagrowski agreed.
Mistake about parents arriving together
- 1:47 p.m. Friday
Smith pointed out that Wagrowski made an “honest mistake” when he originally said the two parents arrived at the school building together for the meeting the morning of the meeting.
Smith asked if it would be accurate, then, that the more information he has about a topic, the more accurate he can make in his testimony.
“You do the best job you can with the information you have, but you’re certainly not someone who can go back in time and see and know every detail of every single that’s happened, correct?” Smith asked Wagrowski.
She said he has put together a detailed timeline for the jury. When he’s doing that, he’s taking data from many different places, like cellphones, surveillance videos, and cameras.
Cross examination: Edward Wagrowski
- 1:44 p.m. Friday
Shannon Smith began her cross examination of Wagrowski.
Deleted horse messages
- 1:42 p.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley also deleted some messages that were exchanged between herself and the woman who manages her horse, according to the prosecution.
There were 26 messages between the two remaining on Jennifer Crumbley’s phone, and there were 4,047 messages total, Wagrowski said. That would mean that 4,021 messages were deleted off of Jennifer Crumbley’s phone, according to the prosecution.
Deleted messages
- 1:36 p.m. Friday
Wagrowski said there were selectively deleted messages in the conversation between the Crumbley parents.
“You unsent a message,” Jennifer Crumbley sent to a man named Brian Meloche at 7:31 a.m. Dec. 2. “We’re on the run again. Helicopters not sure where to I’ll message you.”
The “you unsent a message” suggests the message had been deleted, Wagrowski said.
“You unset a message” also appeared before a message that said, “We’re f-----.”
Wagrowski said Jennifer Crumbley also deleted some messages exchanged with her boss because the screenshots from their two phones don’t match.
“I need a lawyer, at the substation with police, “Jennfier Crumbley sent her boss. “(The shooter’s name) did it.
“I need my job, please don’t judge me for what my son did.”
After shooting
- 1:33 p.m. Friday
The Crumbley parents went to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and then went back home. They were home by 2:30 p.m., according to phone data.
Their son was in custody.
James Crumbley calls 911
- 1:29 p.m. Friday
The prosecution played a 911 call that James Crumbley made after discovering a gun was missing from their home.
In the 911 call, he references the active shooter at Oxford High School and the drawing on the math sheet.
Jennifer Crumbley was emotional in the courtroom as the audio played.
Here is the 911 call:
‘The gun is gone’
- 1:28 p.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley also texted her boss while on the phone with her husband.
“The gun is gone and so are the bullets,” Jennifer Crumbley texted to her boss.
“I’m praying everything is OK!” her boss responded.
“Omg Andy he’s going to kill himself he must be the shooter,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
Text: ‘Don’t do it’
- 1:26 p.m. Friday
An email was sent out by Oxford Community Schools at 1:09 p.m. about an “active emergency at Oxford High School.” It was sent to James Crumbley’s phone, Wagrowski said.
James Crumbley went to the Meijer parking lot and called Jennifer Crumbley, Wagrowski said. They were on the phone for about 10 minutes.
She left work at 1:18 p.m.
During the phone call with her husband, Jennifer Crumbley sent a message to her boss and another to her son.
“I love you too,” she texted the shooter. “You OK? (Shooter’s name) don’t do it.”
These texts were sent at 1:22 p.m. while she was on the phone with her husband, according to Wagrowski.
Texts between Jennifer Crumbley and son
- 1:19 p.m. Friday
“You OK?” Jennifer Crumbley asked.
“Ya I just got back from lunch,” the shooter said.
“You know you can talk to us and we won’t judge,” she said.
“I know, thank you. I’m sorry for that. I love you,” he said.
Jennifer Crumbley did not respond to that text until after the shooting was already made public, the prosecution said.
‘He can’t be left alone’
- 1:17 p.m. Friday
When Jennifer Crumbley continued to message her friend about that night’s horse riding, she said that her son would be coming with her because “he can’t be left alone,” Wagrowski said.
Jennifer Crumbley also texted her son after the meeting.
Messages about horses
- 1:12 p.m. Friday
After the meeting, the first thing Jennifer Crumbley did after the meeting was send a message to the woman she had previously been texting about the health of her horse.
“K I’ll bring some out later,” Jennifer Crumbley sent on Facebook. “Just had to go to my son’s school and meet his counselor s--- day.”
The woman asked if everything was OK, and Jennifer Crumbley said she still plans on doing the “lesson tonight.” She sent the math worksheet drawing to the woman and said her son was having a hard time after his friend left.
“As long as I can get out there early enough because I had to leave work for an hour,” Jennifer said. “I plan on being there plus the vet said it’s better for him to move around and keep the circulation going while she’s dealing with mud fever good times.”
She was talking about make sure her horse was healthy, according to the proescution.
Meeting at school
- 1:01 p.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley left work and went to the school. She sent the picture of the math worksheet to her boss at 10:05 a.m., saying, “I have to go to my kids school. Counselor just called and this is what I’m dealing with I’ll be back by 11:30-12 at the latest.”
James Crumbley arrived at the school at 10:36 a.m., and Jennifer Crumbley arrived at 10:37 a.m.
They walked into the office at 10:41 a.m. Their son left at 10:51 a.m., and the parents left the school building at 10:54 a.m.
Morning of shooting
- 12:57 p.m. Friday
The shooter was dropped off at school at 7:46 a.m. Nov. 30, 2021 -- the day of the shooting.
Jennifer Crumbley arrived at work at 9 a.m. that day, according to Wagrowski.
At 9:24 a.m., Jennifer Crumbley missed a call from Oxford High School. She called them back three minutes later and they talked for 5 minutes and 43 seconds.
At 9:31 a.m., Jennifer Crumbley received a text from a school counselor that showed photos of a math worksheet that her son had drawn on, according to Wagrowski.
She texted her husband after receiving the picture.
“Call NOW. Emergency,” Jennifer Crumbley said at 9:33 a.m. “Emergency.”
She then sent him the pictures of the worksheet.
“My God. WTF,” James Crumbley said. “Vet not here yet. It’s macklemurry for kiras horse. Still waiting on vet.”
“He said he was distraught about last night,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“We talked about it in the morning,” James Crumbley said. “You talked to him?”
“Can you call?” Jennifer Crumbley asked.
Jennifer Crumbley returns
- 12:53 p.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley is back in the courtroom.
Defense, prosecution back in courtroom
- 12:52 p.m. Friday
The defense attorneys and prosecutors have returned to their places inside the courtroom.
When court resumes, Wagrowski’s testimony will continue.
Evidence off the table
- 12:39 p.m. Friday
Some of the loud disagreements between the prosecution and the defense have centered around the evidence that’s not admissible during Jennifer Crumbley’s trial.
Prosecutors are not to use reference of potential extramarital affairs between the parents, the cleanliness of their house, or their alcohol use. Text messages referencing alcohol have already held up the courtroom once Friday.
What to expect after lunch
- 12:24 p.m. Friday
When court returns, expect prosecutors to resume their questioning of Wagrowski about the day of the shooting -- Nov. 30, 2021.
This line of questioning is likely to be extensive, especially since Keast requested the court break for lunch before starting.
Prosecutor message strategy
- 12:09 p.m. Friday
Prosecutors are showing screenshots of messages from James and Jennifer Crumbley involving their horses and son intermittently to try to paint a picture of parents who cared more about the health of their horse than the mental stability of their son.
Keast showed long messages between the parents when they were worried about their horse, and when he played the voicemail from the shooter, he showed a conversation that included only one message from each parent.
Text message photos uploaded
- 11:58 a.m. Friday
Several screenshots of the text messages and photos shown in court have been added to the updates below.
Break for lunch
- 11:43 a.m. Friday
Keast recommended breaking for lunch at this point. The judge agreed.
The court took a break for lunch with a plan to return at 12:45 p.m.
Day of shooting
- 11:42 a.m. Friday
On the day of the shooting, the shooter was dropped off at school at 7:46 a.m. Outdoor surveillance video shows the shooter being dropped off.
Facebook messages between parents
- 11:40 a.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley messaged her husband on Facebook about the bullet search issue at school.
“(The shooter) tell you what happened today?” she asked.
“Yeah,” James Crumbley said.
There was no further discussion about the issue on Facebook, Wagrowski said.
Texts about bullet search
- 11:37 a.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley texted the shooter at 11:53 a.m. Nov. 29 about him researching bullets in school.
“Seriously?? Looking up bullets in school??” Jennifer Crumbley texted the shooter.
“What,” the shooter answered. “Oh yah. I already went to the office for that. It was in first hour all I did was look up a certain caliber at the end of class because I was curious. It was on my phone.
“Completely harmless. Teachers just have no privacy. They said I’m all good.
“I understood why they talked to me and they said that I am good. This is nothing I should get in trouble about.”
“Your not they left me a voicemail,” Jennifer Crumbley said, with two “hand over face” emojis. “Did you at least show them a pic of your new gun?”
“No I didn’t show them the pic my God,” the shooter said. “I only told them I went to the range with you on Saturday.
“It was a harmless act. I have this bullet cartridge in my room that I didn’t (know) what kind it was and it said it was a 22 so at the end of first hour I just looked up different types of 22 bullets and I guess the teachers can’t get their eyes off my screen smh (shaking my head).”
“Lol I’m not mad, you have to learn not to get caught,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“I know lol,” the shooter said. “I just didn’t want something this little to get me in trouble because... well I didn’t want to get in trouble lol.
“I want to hear the voicemail when I get home tho. Also I never tried to hide me looking up the bullet. I just didn’t think a teacher would be staring at my phone.”
“OK I saved it,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
Voicemail from Oxford High School
- 11:35 a.m. Friday
At around the time of the horse conversation, someone from Oxford High School left a voicemail for Jennifer Crumbley.
The voicemail was played in court. A counselor said the shooter was on his phone looking at bullets and they knew he had gone to the shooting range this weekend. She said it’s a normal hobby to go to the shooting range, but they wanted to make sure there wasn’t an issue.
Jennifer Crumbley listed to the voicemail at 11:49 a.m. Nov. 29, 2021, during the conversation about the horse with her husband.
Point of showing horse texts
- 11:34 a.m. Friday
Prosecutors were essentially trying to establish how often the Crumbley parents expressed concern about their horses, especially in comparison to their concern about the shooter’s text messages about a demon in the home.
Text exchange day before shooting
- 11:31 a.m. Friday
Prosecutors showed a text conversation between the Crumbley parents on Nov. 29, 2021, the day before the shooting, at 8 a.m.
“Are you at the barn?” Jennifer Crumbley asked.
“Working on Billy,” James Crumbley said.
He then sent a picture of the horse’s legs.
“Do the fronts too,” Jennifer Crumbley said. “Did you call the vet? Make sure you get back in between his heel bulbs.”
“I did,” James Crumbley said. “Fronts too. What exactly should I tell vet? Type out for me. Leaving barn now.”
“Billy looks to have scratches/mud fever,” Jennifer Crumbley said. “He’s starting to stock up on all fours and concerned about infection. He’s not lame, sensitive to the touch and they go down when he moves. Is there an antibiotic I can get him on? We just put (medicine) on his legs today.
“Was he stocked up this morning?”
“He was stocked up more in the back than in the front,” James Crumbley said. “In fact, the front didn’t really look stocked up at all so I launched them for a few minutes before I put the stuff on it and it took the swelling down a little bit but I got the cream all over, you know, in between his heel bulbs and stuff like that. I’ll call the vet here in a minute.”
Web search day before shooting
- 11:30 a.m. Friday
On Nov. 29, 2021, at 3:05 a.m. the day before the shooting, Jennifer Crumbley performed a web search for “research clinical depression treatment options.”
Text exchange about horses
- 11:27 a.m. Friday
Prosecutors showed text messages on Nov. 28, 2021, between Jennifer Crumbley and someone else. They were talking about their two horses.
One of the Crumbley horses, Billy, had a swollen foot. The messages continued as they talked about the welfare of the horses.
Jennifer Crumbley went to the barn at noon that day. She returned home at 2 p.m., according to Wagrowski.
Video of gun
- 11:22 a.m. Friday
Prosecutors showed a video taken by the shooter the night of Nov. 26, 2021, after the SIG Sauer was bought. The video showed down the barrel of the murder weapon.
More messages between mothers
- 11:17 a.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley sent more messages to the friend’s mother around the time that friend was taken out of the state, according to Wagrowski.
“James filled me in on (the friend) last night,” Jennifer Crumbley wrote on Oct. 31, 2021. “I’m so sorry you guys are having to make such a hard decision. Please let me know if you need anything.”
“How are you guys all doing?” Jennifer Crumbley asked on Nov. 3, 2021. “Been thinking of you all a lot.”
“Hi Jenn!” the friend’s mother replied. “We’re doing OK. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do!!! I worry about him constantly and miss him terribly. I know that he’s where he needs to be to get better though. Thanks so much for checking on us. I appreciate you and your family! (My son) was only happy and relaxed with you guys!”
“Please keep us updated,” Jennifer Crumbley said on Nov. 4, 2021. “I know (the shooter) misses him, and if you guys need anything at all please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Jennifer Crumbley sent another message on Nov. 20 asking how the friend was doing, but the prosecution didn’t go into the conversation further.
Jennifer Crumbley Facebook message to friend’s mother
- 11:11 a.m. Friday
The following text messages were exchanged on April 29 between Jennifer Crumbley and the shooter’s friend’s mother, according to Wagrowski.
Jennifer Crumbley: “(The shooter) isn’t bowling tonight. Just want to let you know. Not sure if they need a partner or not.”
Friend’s mother: “Is he feeling OK?”
Jennifer Crumbley: “Yesterday he wasn’t and he’s been acting kind of depressed, so I don’t know what’s going on. I’m not sure if there’s something bothering at school. He really doesn’t feel good. I can’t get anything out of him.”
Friend’s mother: “(My son) too. He stayed home from school today. The only time he’s happy is when he’s with (the shooter). (He) has two Es and two Ds, so I’m wondering if he’s worried about that?”
Jennifer Crumbley: “Yeah this is all new to me. I’m not used to (the shooter) being moody. He’s usually pretty happy and we’ll talk about anything. I do know (the shooter) has been stressed about school and his grades. I We called the school but she wasn’t in social, do it tomorrow. I think his grades have a lot to do with it. He just got to a point where he got so far behind and we were out of town. He’s having difficult time making it up.”
Friend’s mother: “I’m sorry. (My son’s) struggling too. And to be hlonest, I’m sick of fighting with him about it. Stupid online school really messed him up. I’m thankful (he) has (the shooter) as a friend! They laugh and have a great time together.”
Jennifer Crumbley: “Yeah, me too. I’m just glad they’re still getting along and it wasn’t an issue with those two as to why he was being depressed. The online school is horrible. I’ve given up to, I just told him to do his best don’t worry about it next year’s a new year. ... Maybe if (the friend) is feeling better, if he wants to come over after work on Saturday we can take him up to go bowling and make up their scores. He’s more than welcome to stay the night and go to work in the morning. We set up a little shooting range in the backyard for (the shooter’s) BB gun they could do that.”
Friends’ mother: “(My son’s) been excited to shoot.”
Texts to friend
- 11:07 a.m. Friday
Here are some of the text messages the shooter sent to his friend, according to prosecution:
11:56 p.m. April 4, 2021:
- “Like I hear people talking to me and see someone in the distance
- “I actually asked my dad to take me to the doctor yesterday, but he just gave me some pills and told me to ‘suck it up.’”
- “Like it’s at the point wthat I am asking to go to the doctor.”
- “My mom laughed when I told her.”
12:06 a.m. April 5, 2021:
- “But I am having bad insomnia right now and paranoia.”
- “I need help.”
- “I was thinking of calling 911 so I could go to the hospital.”
- His friend responded here.
- “But then my parents would be really pissed.”
12:38 a.m. April 5, 2021:
- “I am going to ask my parents to go to the doctor’s tomorrow or Tuesday again.”
- “But this time I am going to tell them about the voices.”
- “Like I am mentally and physically dying.”
‘Only 1 friend’
- 11:05 a.m. Friday
Wagrowski agreed that he learned during the investigation that the shooter only had one friend, and that that person had been “abruptly taken from the state of Michigan.”
“There was over 20,000 text messages just between the two people,” Wagrowski said of the shooter’s communication with that friend, who had moved out of state.
March 20 text messages
- 11:01 a.m. Friday
The shooter sent his mother the following text messages around 2:30 p.m. March 20:
- “I finished picking up the room.”
- “I cleaned until the clothes started flying off the shelf.”
- “This stuff only happens when I’m home alone.”
- “I picked the clothes back up tho.
His mother didn’t respond until March 22, when she said she was jumping in the shower.
There were no phone calls during the March 20 text exchange, according to Wagrowski.
Pictures from James Crumbley’s phone show that the parents were riding horses at the time those text messages were sent from the shooter to his mother.
March 19 text messages
- 10:58 a.m. Friday
“(The shooter) awake?” Jennifer Crumbley asked.
“Um yeah,” James Crumbley said.
“How is he?” Jennifer Crumbley asked.
“He woke up looking like he had WAY too much to drink last night complaining about a headache,” James Crumbley said.
“Well he was really worked up and out of control so I can see why,” Jennifer Crumbley said. “All I know is he needs to eat, go to work and work hard and not complain and he can get his stuff back.”
“Jesus,” James Crumbley replied. “Yes. He said, ‘Let me ask you a question. Why am I in you guys’ room?’”
“OMG (oh my gosh),” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“I totally thought you were giving him a Xanax last night,” James Crumbley said.
“Does he seem better?” Jennifer Crumbley said. “No melatonin.”
“I know,” James Crumbley said.
“But he hasn’t had one before should of only gave him half,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“He is just doing his school,” James Crumbley said. “Says his head hurts. He took (some) Tylenol.”
“Is he OK to work?” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“Yeah,” James Crumbley said.
“Does he remember what he did?” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“Dude I am working on a demo right now,” James Crumbley said. “I have not talked to him and he is doing school.
“OK then geesh,” Jennifer Crumbley said.’
More text messages: ‘House is haunted’
- 10:52 a.m. Friday
Here is another round of text messages from March 17, 2021:
“Cool, leaving at 4 today,” Jennifer Crumbley said. “F--- this place.”
“Lol, you have your stuff for the barn?” James Crumbley asked.
“Yes,” Jennifer Crumbley said. “Gonna get drunk and ride my horse.”
Two text messages here were struck from the record.
“OK, then cans,” James Crumbley said. “You have the debit card.”
“I know. Hate my job. Can you bring out late please?” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“Yes,” James Crumbley said.
Jennifer Crumbley received the following series of text messages from her son on March 17:
- “OK the house is now haunted. Some weird s--- just happened and now I’m scared.”
- “And a picture of the demon. It is throwing BOWLS. I am not joking it f----- up the kitchen.”
- “I’m just going to be outsider for awhile. Can you at least text back.”
The last text from the shooter to Jennifer Crumbley was sent at 6:29 p.m. March 17, Wagrowski testified.
Jennifer Crumbley responded two days later at 4:11 p.m. and said, “Where’s your dad?”
Four pictures from Jennifer Crumbley’s phone show her and her husband horse riding at 6:03 p.m. and 6:28 p.m. March 17.
Jury returns to courtroom
- 10:49 a.m. Friday
The jury returned to the courtroom and court is back in session.
Matthews apologized to the jury members and said there’s a large volume of information they are trying to streamline for them.
Keast: ‘This is ridiculous’
- 10:44 a.m. Friday
Smith and Keast got into a heated debate over whether or not to include the texts about alcohol. A piece of evidence was eventually modified, but not before and exchange that included Keast saying, “This is ridiculous” while Smith made her case.
Debate over text messages about alcohol
- 10:38 a.m. Friday
Smith says she’s specifically objecting to the texts about alcohol.
Keast said it’s relevant because Smith claims Jennifer Crumbley is a “hyper-vigilant mother” but prosecutors want to show what they were doing instead of paying attention to their son.
“I’m just asking that the alcohol portion be struck,” Smith said.
Jury excused for exhibit dispute
- 10:34 a.m. Friday
After a sidebar, the jury was excused from the courtroom so the defense and prosecutors could debate the use of a piece of evidence.
Counsel had previously moved to exclude certain pieces of evidence.
Smith argues that there are texts that don’t need to be included to make the point that the parents were at the barn and not with their son.
“We object to the texts about buying beer,” Smith said.
She said having drinks is not relevant to the case. She accused prosecutors of wanting to paint the Crumbley parents as people who were out drinking instead of watching over their son.
The judge said the issue at hand is whether the shooter’s text messages were being ignored when he should have been taken seriously.
‘I don’t want him to do anything stupid’
- 10:29 a.m. Friday
WARNING: There is profane language in these text messages.
Prosecutors presented another series of text messages from March 8, 2021. This chat was deleted from Jennifer Crumbley’s phone, according to Wagrowski.
“(The shooter’s name) going to bowling?” Jennifer Crumbley asked.
“IDK (I don’t know),” James Crumbley responded.
“What do you mean IDK?” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“I don’t know, exactly said I said. Will know after he gets home,” James Crumbley said.
“Does he have his phone?” Jennifer Crumbley asked. “Why isn’t he home yet? He should be home by now.”
“Freaking out,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“He does not get home til 3:15,” James Crumbley said.
“I told you to pick him up because he’s upset and I don’t want him to do anything stupid g-------,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
“Dude chill,” James Crumbley said. “He is find and I am trying to f------ work.”
Text messages from March 9, 2021
- 10:27 a.m. Friday
Here are a series of eight text messages that were sent by the shooter to his mother.
“Can you get home now?” the shooter texted. “There is someone in the house I think. Someone walked into the bathroom and flushed the toilet and left the light on.
“And I thought it was you, but when I came out, no one was home. There is no one in the house tho. Dude my door just slammed. Maybe it’s just my paranoia. But when are you going to get home?”
Jennifer Crumbley didn’t reply to any of those text messages on March 9, according to Wagrowski.
The next day, Jennifer Crumbley responded, “Where’s your dad???”
Wagrowski questioning resumes
- 10:20 a.m. Friday
Keast went back to March 9, 2021, as he continued his questioning of Wagrowski.
The picture of the horse taken by Jennifer Crumbley was back at issue. Keast also said he wants to reference text messages between Jennifer Crumbley and her son on that date.
Court back in session
- 10:20 a.m. Friday
Matthews returned, Wagrowski took the stand, and the jury entered the room. Court is back in session.
Jennifer Crumbley back from break
- 10:17 a.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley returned from the break and took her place between her defense attorneys, Shannon Smith and Shaun Godwin.
During breaks, she is placed in chains and escorted out of the courtroom by Oakland County Sheriff’s Office deputies. The deputies told Judge Matthews that their orders are to do that every time the court is in break.
Wagrowski’s testimony was from memory
- 10:06 a.m. Friday
Wagrowski’s job as a computer crimes expert was to analyze the surveillance footage from the shooting, so he said he has gone over that video several times.
Keast said Wagrowski didn’t know he was going to ask him to go back through it. The point was to prove that all those images from the hallways are committed to memory.
Prosecutors are establishing the expertise of their witness.
Court takes break
- 9:57 a.m. Friday
Keast asked the judge if the court could take a short break after this emotional testimony. Smith agreed.
Smith was seen hugging an emotional Jennifer Crumbley.
The judge agreed to take a 10-minute break. Wagrowski remains under oath.
The jury left at 9:59 a.m.
Shooter’s path inside school
- 9:51 a.m. Friday
The shooter went into the bathroom next to room 258. Then he left the bathroom in what Wagrowski described as a “proud chest. He looked excited.”
To his left was a victim, and the shooter shot her in her neck. He then shot the girl’s friend.
“He quickly turned his gun to a group of four girls who were standing there,” Wagrowski said.
That’s when he shot Hana St. Juliana.
Wagrowski said all that happened in under a minute. People started to run away, and the shooter fired shots down the hallway, holding the gun with one arm.
“There was one girl who you see at the end of the hallway -- you see as the shooting starts she drops into the fetal position to protect herself,” Wagrowski said. “The shooter runs up to her and puts the gun right up to her head. That was Madisyn. You see her fall over.”
The shooter continued down the hallway, and one girl tried to get into a door that had already been locked shut. Another girl grabbed her and they ran down the hallway as the shooter came, still firing shots.
“Now he’s rounded the corner from where it all started,” Wagrowski said. “I think at that point he might have reloaded his gun and continued down the hallway. Then he stops as he gets to a courtyard, what they call ‘the cubby,’ and you see Tate Myre comes in the door and takes a left. He must not have known what was going on.”
That’s when the shooter leveled the gun, looked down the sight, and Tate Myre fell instantly, according to Wagrowski.
“The shooter walks past him,” Wagrowski said. “You see his feet stop in what I later found out to be a teacher’s classroom. He turns, and then he fires into that classroom.”
The shooter continued walking down the hall, looking into classrooms, according to Wagrowski.
“As he’s coming back, he must have seen people hiding in the corner because he can now see through the window, and he fired a few rounds through that window,” Wagrowski said.
Video showed the shooter walking right past Gibson-Marshall, looking away from her, Wagrowski said.
He then went to the bathroom and went to the bathroom where Justin Shilling was killed.
“It’s burned in my brain,” Wagrowski said of the surveillance video.
He had to watch it countless times.
Tracking down video of shooter
- 9:49 a.m. Friday
There are over 90 security cameras that were active at Oxford High School at the time of the shooting. Wagrowski said his job was to identify who the shooter was and what he had done.
“We didn’t know who the shooter was,” Wagrowski said. “We didn’t know his name at the time.”
He said the shooter had changed his clothes, but they learned that the shooter had gone into the school counselor’s office earlier in the day.
Officials went back and followed the shooter from the counselor’s office to the bathroom. Then they could follow his path during the shooting.
Going to Oxford High School
- 9:46 a.m. Friday
After 15 minutes at the Meijer, Wagrowski got a call from a detective who was trying to get the security footage from the school. He was called because he had expertise with DVR systems.
Wagrowski drove to the high school from Meijer and went in the main entrance. He said he saw authorities walking in and out. The scene was chaotic, he said.
He went to the security office and started to look for video of the shooter at the hallway. At the time, officers were still trying to clear the school and make sure it was safe.
Arriving at scene
- 9:43 a.m. Friday
When he arrived at Oxford High School, Wagrowski said all he saw was children heading to the Meijer. He saw girls who weren’t dressed warmly enough to be outside in the cold weather and a boy without a shoe.
“There were kids everywhere, just standing in the cold,” Wagrowski said.
He went to the garden area of Meijer, where officials were passing out notebooks for the students to write their names. Wagrowski tried to get children to go inside Meijer, knowing they had just been through a trauma, he said.
Driving to shooting
- 9:39 a.m. Friday
Wagrowski said his captain told them after the shooting that it was an “all hand’s on deck” situation. He thought the situation would be over by the time he arrived at the school because he was a “computer nerd.”
“At first it didn’t seem real,” Wagrowski said. Then he saw all the different police officers and state troopers responding.
When he was driving, there was a lot of police radio traffic, Wagrowski said. That’s when he learned that the shooter was in custody. He didn’t know whether there were more shooters or other threats.
“With every half mile I drove, it seemed like there was another emergency vehicle behind me,” Wagrowski said.
Horse riding
- 9:36 a.m. Friday
The prosecution asked Wagrowski about March 9, 2021, when the Crumbley parents apparently rode a horse. They showed Facebook messages between the two talking about their preparations and showed a picture that was taken of the horse on Jennifer Crumbley’s phone.
Keast vs. Smith on messages
- 9:33 a.m. Friday
Smith said her objection about prosecutors showing only select messages in a longer conversation was because messages were “deleted.” Keast took issue with that and loudly shouted her down.
The judge agreed with Keast, saying prosecutors don’t want Smith to give the jury a sense that they’re hiding something.
Smith said she isn’t asking for them to show all 2,000 messages in the courtroom.
Defense has several objections
- 9:30 a.m. Friday
Smith said she’s going to have “several” objections to evidence shown during Wagrowski’s testimony.
“I’m sorry, with this witness, we’re going to have to go exhibit by exhibit,” she said.
Deleted phone data
- 9:25 a.m. Friday
Wagrowski talked about how data such as Facebook messages are stored even if they’re deleted off a person’s phone or personal account.
He also said over the court of the investigation, he reviewed deleted messages from Jennifer Crumbley.
Prosecutors showed a list in court of the electronic devices and accounts that Wagrowski investigated from both Crumbley parents and the shooter.
Witness: Edward Wagrowski
- 9:12 a.m. Friday
Edward Wagrowski has been with the U.S. Secret Service for a few weeks, but at the time of the shooting, he worked for the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
He spent 28 years with the sheriff’s department, including 10 years in computer crimes.
Defense attorney objections
- 9:03 a.m. Friday
Shannon Smith began Day 2 of the trial by objecting to some text messages that were placed into evidence on Thursday because she can’t cross examine the shooter.
Attorneys for the shooter said he’s not going to testify -- he will exercise his Fifth Amendment right.
Matthews said this issue has been resolved, but Smith said she would like to then question the court-appointed psychiatrist. That person is also invoking privilege.
Jury reminder
- 8:49 a.m. Friday
There are 17 jurors seated for this trial, but only 12 will actually take part in deliberation. The others are alternates.
During the trial, the prosecution and defense don’t know which of those jurors will be part of deliberation.
Jennifer Crumbley arrives
- 8:42 a.m. Friday
Jennifer Crumbley arrived in the courtroom.
What to expect today
- 8:35 a.m. Friday
Friday should be much like Thursday, with the prosecution calling witnesses for questioning and the defense having an opportunity to cross-examine.
McDonald said at the start of the trial that she plans to call 20 or more witnesses to the stand.
Smith cross-examined Back and Brandon, but did not have any questions for the first two witnesses on Thursday.
Jury members approached?
- 8:21 a.m. Friday
Judge Matthews said another judge is trying to seat a jury for an unrelated trial in the courtroom next door, and some of that judge’s prospective jurors were approached and asked if they were part of the Jennifer Crumbley trial.
She addressed this issue right after Thursday’s lunch break and said that Oakland County officials are investigating. If she finds out anyone was tampering with the jury, they will be taken into custody, she said.
The person or people responsible might have been members of the media, according to Matthews.
Karen McDonald vs. Shannon Smith
- 8:09 a.m. Friday
There’s been some tension in the courtroom between Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and lead defense attorney Shannon Smith.
Frustrations boiled over after the prosecution showed a video of Gibson-Marshall crossing paths with the shooter inside Oxford High School near an injured Tate Myre. Smith had objected to that piece of evidence, but the judge allowed it to be played.
McDonald took issue with Smith and Jennifer Crumbley crying in front of the jury as they watched. After the jury had been dismissed for a break, McDonald went back on the record and accused Smith of “sobbing,” to which Smith strongly objected.
There have also been several disconnects in the logistics of exhibit labeling. During Brandon’s testimony, Smith spoke up multiple times to say the evidence shown in court didn’t appear exactly as it was presented to her by prosecutors.
Prosecution strategy
- 7:54 a.m. Friday
Prosecutors are trying to prove that the Oxford High School shooter was so proficient with weapons that it should have been obvious to his parents that he could have posed a threat to others.
Brandon testified about the shooter’s clear comfortability handling the SIG Sauer 9 mm, including his stance when advancing on Tate Myre, a student who was killed. The way the shooter reloaded the weapon and disarmed it when he gave himself up were also signs that he knew his way around a gun, Brandon said.
At the same time, the prosecution wants to convince the jury that Jennifer Crumbley was grossly negligent by making weapons accessible around the house and ignoring warning signs that their son was unstable.
Defense strategy
- 7:41 a.m. Friday
The defense hasn’t yet been allowed to call one of their own witnesses, but so far, their strategy is clear: Deflect the blame of the shooting away from Jennifer Crumbley and onto the shooter. In some cases, James Crumbley has also taken heat.
Defense attorney Shannon Smith makes sure to highlight that most of the prosecutions witness testimony is about what the shooter did, not what Jennifer Crumbley has done. She pointed out that Jennifer Crumbley didn’t know much about handling guns at the range, while her son was clearly more comfortable.
Jennifer Crumbley was not at the gun store when her husband bought the SIG Sauer used in the school shooting. She also expressed concern for her son’s safety when she found out there had been a shooting, according to the defense.
Day 1 witnesses
- 7:28 a.m. Friday
Prosecutors called four witnesses on Day 1 of the trial.
The first was Molly Darnell, an Oxford High School staff member who was shot in the arm by the shooter.
Second was Kristy Gibson-Marshall, the assistant principal at Oxford High School. She shared her story from the day of the shooting, including when she came across the shooter in the hallway.
Cammy Back works at the gun store where James Crumbley bought the gun that was used in the school shooting. She talked about that transaction and gun safety laws.
Finally, prosecutors called ATF Special Agent Brett Brandon, who was on the stand for more than two hours. He covered a variety of topics, including the search warrant at the Crumbley household, safe gun storage tactics, and the shooter’s proficiency with a weapon.
Friday morning plans
- 7:15 a.m. Friday
Judge Matthews asked the members of the jury to be at the courthouse by 8:30 a.m. Friday.
