OXFORD, Mich. – With the father of the Oxford High School shooter scheduled to stand trial one month after his wife’s trial ended, experts say both his defense and the prosecution have things to learn from the first trial.
“Prosecutors regroup as well as defense attorneys,” Detroit defense attorney Lillian Diallo told Local 4. The same prosecutors are getting ready to try James Crumbley on the same four involuntary manslaughter charges his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was tried for earlier this month. Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of all four counts after several days of testimony, and around 10 hours of jury deliberation.
When taking the stand in her own defense, Jennifer Crumbley shared her perspective with the jury for the first time ever publicly. Throughout her testimony, the shooter’s mother gave explanations that distanced herself from certain responsibilities -- such as storing the gun used in the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting -- and instead placed blame on her husband. Still, the jury found enough evidence to convict the mother of the charges.
James Crumbley will soon be tried for the same charges, though it’s unknown whether he will also take the stand, or if his defense strategy will include pointing fingers back at his wife.
Attorney Diallo sat down with Local 4′s Christy McDonald to discuss the upcoming trial, and how it might differ from Jennifer Crumbley’s trial. Here are some key takeaways from their conversation.
Who’s responsible for the gun?
According to Diallo, James Crumbley could actually benefit from having his trial take place after his wife’s, even though she was ultimately convicted. The parents were initially going to stand trial together as co-defendants, but were granted a request at the end of 2023 to have their trials severed.
Diallo said James Crumbley’s defense got to see how prosecutors laid out their arguments during his wife’s trial, which could influence their strategy.
One of the key points brought up during Jennifer Crumbley’s trial was the topic of the last person to knowingly have access to the recently purchased handgun used by the shooter. Even the jury forewoman said it was a driving point for them knowing that evidence pointed to Jennifer Crumbley being the last person to have possession of the gun before it was accessed by her son.
In the days before the mass shooting, Jennifer Crumbley and her son went to a shooting range. Upon returning home, the mother said she stored the gun in the trunk of her car and that her husband said he retrieved it, brought it inside, and hid it once he got home from work.
But apart from Jennifer Crumbley’s testimony, there was no evidence presented to the jury that proved she wasn’t the last person to have the gun. The last known location of the 9mm handgun was the trunk of Jennifer Crumbley’s car until the day of the shooting.
Diallo said if she was the father’s attorney, she would “pull that thread.”
“If they have not made a connection between James Crumbley touching that gun and then the shooter -- but we can see clearly mom was at the shooting range, and she walks the gun out. So, who stored the gun? And who stored it properly, or improperly? I would use it,” Diallo said.
It’s unknown what, if any, evidence the prosecution might introduce to prove otherwise. The issue of who last possessed the gun and where it was stored is expected to be key for both sides in James Crumbley’s trial.
---> Mother of Oxford shooter points finger at husband for gun storage, texts to lawyer
Keeping certain evidence out
Throughout Jennifer Crumbley’s trial, new evidence was admitted that had previously been barred from entering the courtroom. Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews had previously granted the parents’ request, in part, to exclude certain evidence from their trials to avoid creating unnecessary prejudice among the jury.
Among the evidence that wasn’t initially allowed were the details of Jennifer Crumbley’s extramarital affair. But due to the defense’s cross-examination of a witness, that changed at the last minute. Details of the affair were allowed, and the defense totally agreed to it, saying they wanted everything out in the open.
And that wasn’t the only time during the trial that previously excluded evidence was brought into the mix during the mother’s trial. Attorney Diallo said she thinks James Crumbley’s defense should instead “keep out what’s supposed to be out.”
Months before the parents’ trials, Judge Matthews decided that the following evidence may not be admitted: The parents’ infidelities; content from the shooter’s additional Instagram accounts; the messiness of their home, and the fact that alcohol and marijuana were present there; the shooter’s internet searches; and the shooter’s Nazi coin. The judge ruled more recently that evidence related to the shooter’s mutilating of birds must also be excluded from the trials.
The court did say, however, it will allow evidence related to violent video games played by the shooter; intoxication or drug use by the parents at the time of the shooting or when the shooter accessed the gun in their home; and the parents’ horseback riding.
Privileged text messages between Jennifer Crumbley and her attorney Shannon Smith were also allowed at the end of her trial. Those texts showed at least one of the parents -- who were reportedly sharing a phone the night a statewide manhunt for them was underway -- had texted Smith saying they think they had been found, and that they were laying low.
Jennifer Crumbley said she doesn’t believe she sent those texts, implying they were sent by her husband. It’s unclear if that privileged evidence would be allowed at James Crumbley’s trial.
Father could be more sympathetic figure
Attorney Diallo indicated that it’s possible a jury might sympathize more with James Crumbley than they did with Jennifer Crumbley, particularly because of the circumstances laid out by the wife during her trial.
“Apparently, from what I can hear and see, he’s a more sympathetic figure,” Diallo said.
Jennifer Crumbley testified that her husband was going through a difficult time in the year 2021. His mother passed away, and he was having trouble holding a job amid the COVID pandemic, she said.
It’s unclear if the topic of Jennifer Crumbley’s affair will be allowed at James’ trial, but the fact that her affair occurred under her husband’s nose during a difficult year for him could also trigger feelings of sympathy among a jury, if it’s mentioned.
Oakland County prosecutors also walked through video evidence showing the parents at the police substation in the hours after the shooting. The father could be heard weeping, and after being allowed to see the shooter briefly, James Crumbley walked out of the room yelling, “I love you,” repeatedly.
In contrast, Jennifer Crumbley didn’t show as much emotion physically following the shooting, according to the evidence. She addressed that on the stand, saying she internalizes her emotions and instead responds by taking action.
“If I were on that defense team, James Crumbley would be more sympathetic,” Diallo said.
Defense should ‘focus on the case’
Diallo said she thinks James Crumbley’s defense could learn a valuable lesson from Jennifer Crumbley’s trial: Focus on the case at hand, and not its impact.
“Just keep focus on your case,” Diallo said. “Don’t worry about the spotlight, don’t worry about the comments. Just focus in on your client and your client’s defense.”
The trials for the parents of the Oxford shooter are particularly high profile because they’re the first-ever parents of a school shooter to be charged in connection with the shooting in the U.S. Diallo suggests James Crumbley’s defense attorneys keep their head down and focus on the case, rather than allowing themselves to be influenced by any potential precedent or external feedback.
Jennifer Crumbley’s attorney Shannon Smith referenced outside opinions in her closing arguments earlier this month, saying she knew she had become a popular topic on social media because of the trial. Diallo implied that some of the previously excluded evidence brought in during Jennifer Crumbley’s trial may have been related to outside opinion rather than strategy.
Jury took their jobs seriously
When asked about James Crumbley’s request to change the venue of his trial to a new county, Diallo said, “Where’s he going?”
“This is national news, may even be international. We just want to focus on, ‘Can you be fair to this person that sits here?’” Diallo said.
Just weeks before his trial was scheduled to begin, James Crumbley’s attorneys filed a motion seeking to move his trial to a different county in hopes of finding a jury pool that may be less familiar with or prejudiced about his case. The Crumbley parents made the same request in 2022, and the same judge denied that request.
Judge Matthews said in 2022 that Oakland County is a large and diverse county, and that the court shouldn’t have trouble finding jurors with different perspectives and an ability to be impartial. In response to the recent request, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said through rigorous questioning of potential jurors, the court was able to secure a group of fair individuals to sit on the jury for Jennifer Crumbley.
“When we listened to the forewoman on the Jennifer Crumbley case, it seemed like they were pretty even, and it wasn’t a fast verdict. They went out and walked through, and came to that decision understanding lives are hanging in the balance,” Diallo said.
“So, I believe jurors, for the most part, take their responsibility seriously.”
Judge Matthews was expected to consider the motion at a hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 21. We’ll have the motion hearing live on Local 4+ and ClickOnDetroit.com.
More here: Father of Oxford shooter wants trial moved out of Oakland County: How that works