Watch Live: Trial of Jennifer Crumbley, mother of Oxford High School shooter, gets underway
(CBS DETROIT) - Opening statements for the trial of Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, began Thursday morning in an Oakland County court.
Just before the court took a lunch break, Jennifer Crumbley broke down in tears and was sobbing as she watched surveillance video of her son walking through the high school's hallways the day of the shooting.
The prosecution told the court that the mother had several chances to intervene in her son's downward spiral but that she had failed to do so, and due to this, is responsible for her son's downward spiral, but she had failed to do so, and due to this, she is responsible for the deaths of the four students.
Jennifer Crumbley's attorney, Shannon Smith, began her opening statements by quoting Taylor Swift's song "Bad Blood" and said, "Band-Aids don't fix bullet holes," claiming that Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is trying to put a Band-Aid on problems that cannot be fixed just by putting the parents on trial.
Smith claims Jennifer didn't know much about the guns in the house and placed the blame on her husband.
So far, three witnesses have testified, starting with Molly Darnell, the teacher who made eye contact with the shooter before he fired shots at her. Kristy Gibson-Marshall, the assistant principal who encountered Tate Myre after he was shot, also spoke.
The employee of the store where James Crumbley bought the gun that was used in the shooting also testified.
Jury selection wrapped Wednesday, with a 17-person jury comprised of 10 women and seven men.
Jennifer and James Crumbley are charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter after their son killed four students, Justin Shilling, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, and Hana St. Juliana, and injured several other people in the November 2021 shooting.
Prosecutors accuse the parents of buying the gun for their son that was used the day of the shooting and not getting him the necessary help.
The shooter was sentenced to life in prison without parole in December 2023.
CBS News Detroit is streaming live coverage of the trial at 9 a.m.
Former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino and defense attorney Lillian Diallo will join CBS News Detroit throughout the day, providing legal analysis.
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Jennifer Crumbley's requests leading up to the trial
Jennifer Crumbley and her attorneys made several requests leading up to her trial.
One request was to have a separate trial from her husband. That was granted, and James' trial begins on March 5.
Jennifer Crumbley requested that three eyewitnesses be excluded from her trial, claiming that it would be "irrelevant to the elements of the charges." This request was partly denied, as Oakland County Judge Cheryl A. Matthews ruled that two witnesses could testify.
These two witnesses include Molly Darnell, a teacher at Oxford High School who had made eye contact with Jennifer Crumbley's son before he fired shots, and Kristy Gibson-Marshall, the assistant principal at the high school.
The witnesses will be allowed to focus their testimonies on the identification of the shooter, the identification of the gun, the location of the gun, and their observations of the shooter.
Video from Oxford shooting to be shown at Crumbley's trial
In addition, Crumbley and her attorneys requested that video from the day of the shooting not be shown during the trial.
Matthews denied that request and said the video that will be shown is taken from a distance and doesn't have any audio, which means no screaming or gunfire noises will be heard.
She said the video of the shooting is relevant to the trial because it shows the shooter, the deaths of four students and the gun used.
"The video depicts the immediate scene of these deaths in this matter and is highly probative to an element of the charge of involuntary manslaughter," according to the court documents. "While the video in this matter is prejudicial, its probative value is not outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice."
"Bird evidence" excluded from Crumbley's trial
Her attorneys requested that the "bird evidence," which relates to her son torturing and killing birds, be excluded from her trial.
"The 'bird evidence' is so extremely disgusting, sickening, and appalling that its admission would certainly inflame the passions of the jury," according to the motion. Matthews agreed to exclude it from the trial.
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- Oxford High School shooting
- Oxford High School
- Jennifer Crumbley
Joe Buczek is the manager of digital content and promotion at CBS News Detroit. He previously worked at WWTV, the Grand Traverse Insider, the Leader and the Kalkaskian, the Oakland Press and the Morning Sun.