(WWJ) — Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, is asking a judge to throw out her conviction, less than a year after she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Back in February Crumbley was convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the November 2021 mass shooting carried out by her then-15-year-old son. She and her husband James — found guilty the following month — were the first parents in the U.S. to be convicted for a mass shooting carried out by their child.
Oakland County prosecutors said the parents acted in a “grossly negligent way.” They asserted during the trials that Jennifer and James knew their son was struggling with his mental health, but ignored it. Rather than getting help for the teen, James Crumbley bought his son a 9mm handgun, took him to the range to learn how to use it, and failed to keep the weapon safely stored.
On Monday Jennifer Crumbley’s attorney, Michael Dezsi filed a new motion asking Judge Kwame Rowe for a new trial or for her conviction to be overturned, in part because the prosecution "deliberately" withheld evidence from Crumbley, her attorneys and the jury about “secret deals” they made with school witnesses who testified against her. The Detroit Free Press first reported about those alleged agreements in March.
In Monday’s motion, Dezsi wrote the proceedings were “tainted from top to bottom and were borne out of prosecutorial overreach attempting to criminalize Mrs. Crumbley’s noncriminal conduct," according to a Detroit News report.
Dezsi offered four reasons for the request:
• Crumbley's right to due process and a fair trial were violated by the prosecution's assertion of inconsistent theories of culpability.
• Prosecutors did not give Crumbley's attorney the proffer agreements signed by Oxford counselor Shawn Hopkins and former Dean of Students Nick Ejak and instead had a "deliberate suppression" of the impeachment evidence.
• Crumbley's rights were violated by Judge Cheryl Matthews' instructions that the jury could convict Crumbley without a unanimous agreement on which theory they believed in.
• Crumbley received ineffective assistance of counsel.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald responded to a line in Dezsi’s press release that said “parents everywhere should be worried about this case.”
“Parents everywhere are worried. But they are not worried about being prosecuted, they are worried about their kids being shot at school. James and Jennifer Crumbley are the rare, grossly negligent exception, and twenty-four jurors unanimously agreed they are responsible for the deaths of Hana, Madisyn, Tate, and Justin. Holding them accountable for their role is one important step in making our schools safer,” McDonald said, per a press release.
Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre and Justin Shilling were the four students killed by Ethan Crumbley when he took a gun out of his backpack and opened fire inside the school on Nov. 30, 2021.
In response to the arguments in the defendant’s motion regarding witness testimony, Chief Assistant David Williams released the following statement:
“No witnesses were given anything for their testimony, and there was no immunity – these witnesses testified without any promises or protection whatsoever. The Michigan Court of Appeals has already reviewed the legal issues raised by Jennifer Crumbley and rejected them. Where there are egregious facts like these – where two parents ignored the obvious signs that their son was in crisis, bought him a gun and failed to secure it, and then failed to disclose the existence of the gun or take their son home when he drew out his plans, including writing “blood everywhere” with a picture of a gun and a body with bleeding bullet wounds, they can and should be prosecuted.”
Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole, but is trying to win an appeal to have his plea with drawn.
Late last month, McDonald said her office is ready to work with Attorney General Dana Nessel to conduct a state investigation of the events leading up to the shooting.