OXFORD TWP. (WWJ) -- The Michigan Attorney General's Office may finally be gearing up for an investigation, nearly three years after the deadly mass shooting at Oxford High School.
AG Dana Nessel did previously offer to investigate, twice, but was rejected by the school board. An internal investigation was conducted instead, but with limited participation by school officials.
Nessel recently said she needed a recommendation, or an invitation from the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office or sheriff's office to further pursue the case.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald says there's no rule or law requiring that, and she's now gathering whatever documents are needed to expedite an investigation by the state.
The sheriff's office also says it's ready to participate in an investigation by the Attorney General, and never refused to participate in one.
"Our office is going to do whatever we need to do to make sure that that thorough investigation is done, and we stand with the parents," McDonald told WWJ Newsradio 950's Mike Campbell, in an interview Thursday. "And I just think the focus her needs to be what these parents have been asking and fighting for for nearly three years."
McDonald led the successful prosecutions of former Oxford High School student Ethan Crumbley and his parents in the Nov. 2021 killings of four students. Six other students and one teacher were wounded.
Parents of the four students killed — Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Hana St. Juliana, 14 — renewed demands this week for a thorough investigation into the school's part in the tragedy. The families said they’re frustrated by the lack of accountability and transparency from not only the school district locally, but by state officials, asserting that the goal of the investigation would be to find any wrongdoings leading up to the shooting in order to create a blueprint to prevent future tragedies. (Read more)
"Even if there is no any evidence here after a thorough investigation — when they speak with the people in the school district, in the building, and it doesn't lead to a criminal charge — the recommendations and findings will shed light on what happened, and what didn't happen, which will save lives," McDonald said. "It will save the lives of kids in Michigan, so that we can do whatever we need to do to make sure this doesn't happen again."
McDonald said Nessel might find it helpful to start her investigation with some of what the internal investigation turned up.
"You know, there were a lot of really, really surprising and upsetting things that we re discovered in their report, and it just didn't land with anyone. And I think it was just too large for the media to digest," McDonald said. "But, again, that's why I think a statewide agency, listing those recommendations and findings, or however it leads to, it would be more effective."
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.
Crumbley's parents were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the first case of a school shooter's parents facing such charges.
There have been no charges filed to date against the school, or school officials.
As of Thursday, Nessel had not yet indicated when, or even if, her investigation might begin.