OXFORD, Mich. – The trial of James Crumbley wrapped up Wednesday without any testimony from Crumbley himself, who could have offered more insight into the whereabouts of the gun used by his son in the Oxford High School shooting.
Details of the involuntary manslaughter case against the Oxford shooter’s parents -- the first parents of a U.S. school shooter to also be charged -- have been widely circulated for years. Evidence had been revealed at court hearings for the shooter and his parents, with many details explained during the trial of the shooter’s mother earlier this year.
But one piece of information still remains a mystery: The whereabouts of the murder weapon in the days leading up to the shooting. Those whereabouts were not clarified at Jennifer Crumbley’s trial, and may never be, now that James Crumbley decided not to take the stand in his own defense.
James Crumbley went before the court at his trial on Wednesday, March 13 to declare that it was his decision to not testify at his trial.
Mother accused father of being responsible for guns
The shooter’s father was accused by his wife of being the adult responsible for handling, storing, and hiding the family’s three firearms. One of those firearms, a 9 mm handgun bought days before the shooting, was accessed and used by the Oxford shooter to murder four students and injure seven people on Nov. 30, 2021.
While testifying in her defense at her own trial, Jennifer Crumbley told the jury that she was not responsible for the family’s guns. She said she had no problem with the firearms, but that she wasn’t comfortable handling them and left that responsibility to her husband.
Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in February.
When it comes to who was responsible for storing the three handguns in the Crumbley family’s home, we only have Jennifer Crumbley’s testimony to rely on. James Crumbley could have offered more insight into gun storage in the home, and whether it was his responsibility, but he is not testifying in this case.
Last evidence of gun’s whereabouts
The 9 mm Sig Sauer used in the Oxford shooting was purchased by James Crumbley four days before the massacre. Prosecutors have long alleged that the gun was bought specifically as a gift for the shooter, who allegedly begged his parents for it.
Jennifer Crumbley took her son and the 9 mm handgun to the shooting range on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Surveillance footage from the range was shown during Jennifer’s trial. She bought 100 rounds of ammunition, and both she and her son fired the weapon, using 50 rounds.
Surveillance cameras captured Jennifer Crumbley walking out of the range holding the plastic case for the handgun. She testified that she placed the case in the trunk of her vehicle and drove home.
Jennifer Crumbley told the jury that she left the gun in her vehicle for her husband to retrieve and store in the house once he got home that day. She testified that he told her he moved the gun into the home, though she said she didn’t see him actually do it.
The video of Jennifer Crumbley walking out of the shooting range with the gun is the last known evidence of the gun’s whereabouts. The fact that the mother was the last known adult to have possession of the gun was a key factor in the jury finding her guilty, that jury’s forewoman told the media.
It’s unknown where the gun went after that. No hard evidence -- like photos or videos -- were introduced in court to show the gun’s final whereabouts.
When the shooter got the gun
It’s not entirely clear when the shooter accessed the gun leading up to the shooting, or from where he retrieved it.
Jennifer Crumbley testified that the gun was locked in its plastic case, and that James Crumbley was responsible for hiding it in their home. The key needed to open that cable lock was stored in a beer stein somewhere in the home, she said -- she didn’t know exactly where.
At some point between Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, and Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, the then-15-year-old shooter accessed the 9 mm handgun and the leftover 50 rounds of ammunition from the shooting range. He brought it to school with him that Tuesday in his backpack, and fired shots in the hallways of the school around 12:51 p.m.
In the days leading up to the shooting, the shooter wrote in his journal that he now “had” the gun that he planned to use in the shooting. It wasn’t entirely clear if that meant the gun he wanted was purchased and in his home, or if he actually had physical possession of the gun.
Jennifer Crumbley claimed they did not allow their son to just have and use the gun at his leisure without supervision. Evidence was introduced at James Crumbley’s trial, however, showing a video of the shooter using a different gun in August 2021, accompanied by a text to a friend saying his father left the gun out, so he figured, “why not.”
No testimony from James Crumbley
James Crumbley went before the court on Wednesday to clarify on the record that it was his decision to remain silent at his trial. He is not obligated to testify in his own defense at his trial, and he chose not to.
His testimony could have clarified several points, particularly related to how the guns were stored, if it really was his responsibility to store them, and where the 9 mm handgun was located when the shooter accessed it. We will not hear those things at James Crumbley’s trial, which was set to wrap up with closing arguments on Wednesday.
It’s possible that information will never become clear to the public.
---> Both sides rest at James Crumbley trial: Here’s every witness testimony