PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — The mother of a Michigan school shooter testified Thursday in her own defense, saying she had no role in purchasing or storing the handgun that killed four students in 2021. She said there was no such thing and shifted the responsibility to her husband.
“I wasn't comfortable being in charge of it. It belonged to him,” Jennifer Crumbley told jurors about her husband on the sixth day of his manslaughter trial.
Mr. Crumbley presented several days of unreliable evidence, including meetings with Oxford High School officials, extramarital affairs, deep concerns about Ma after the shooting, and emptying his son's $3,000 bank account before his arrest. After being presented with this, he took the witness stand.
Jennifer Crumbley, 45, and her husband James, 47, are accused of making guns available in their home and ignoring Ethan Crumbley's mental health needs. They are, america's first parents He is charged with a school shooting committed by his own child.
James Crumbley goes on trial in March. Ethan, now 17, has pleaded guilty to murder and is serving a life sentence.
The boy, who was 15 years old at the time, pulled a gun from his backpack and shot 11 people at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021, killing four students.
Ethan was with his father when he bought a 9mm handgun just four days ago. Jennifer Crumbley took her son to the shooting range and posted photos from the trip on social media.
But she otherwise denied any role in handling or storing the guns. She said the gun was kept in a locked box and the key was kept inside a beer mug.
Jennifer Crumbley told the jury she was nervous but remained clear and calm for nearly two hours before the trial was adjourned. She apologized for the redness on her neck and she hoped she didn't break out in hives.
Prosecutors last week presented Ethan Crumbley's own text messages from spring 2021, in which he told his mother that a “devil” was “throwing bowls” at his home and clothes were “flying off the shelves.” He said he spoke. It was presented as evidence of hallucinations that his parents had not addressed.
But Jennifer Crumbley said it was “just Ethan fooling around.”
“My son has been convinced that there's a ghost in our house since 2015,” she said, adding that he called the ghost “Boris Johnson”.
Earlier in the day, investigators read portions of Ethan's diary to the jury.
Ethan, who was 15 at the time, wrote, “I received no help for my mental health issues, which led me to shoot up my school.”
“My parents won't listen to me about help or therapists,” the boy said, adding that he faces the rest of his life in prison and “many have about a day left to live.”
However, Jennifer Crumbley said her son does not exhibit any mental health issues.
“There were several times that Ethan expressed concerns about taking the test,” she says. “Anxiety about what he was going to do after high school, after college? The military? But it's not at a level where I feel like he needs to see a psychiatrist or a mental health professional. did.”
Jennifer Crumbley's attorney, Shannon Smith, renewed her call for Ethan Crumbley to take him to court to challenge the diary and other evidence. But Judge Cheryl Matthews said no, noting that the boy's attorney had indicated he would exercise his right to remain silent.
Ethan Crumbley has pleaded guilty to murder and other charges, but may still appeal his non-parole sentence.
A meeting between school officials and the Crumbleys in the hours before the shooting was a key point in the mother's case.
The parents were presented with a disturbing drawing that their son had scrawled for an assignment. It featured a gun, a bullet, and the line, “Feelings don't stop.'' help me. The world is dead. My life is wasted. ”
The school encouraged Ethan to seek help as soon as possible, but the Crumbleys refused to take him home. necessary to return to work. Their son remained at the school and then pulled a handgun from his backpack and fired at the students.
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