CNN
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Jennifer Crumbley, mother of teenagers The woman who killed four people at a Michigan high school in 2021 admitted during cross-examination in her manslaughter trial that she and her husband gifted their son the firearm that was later used in the attacks.
“We didn't just say, 'Son,' and hand him the gun,” she testified. “It was something he could use when we went to the range as a family.”
She testified that the day before, she had left her husband in charge of securing the firearms. But on her cross-examination, she said she trusted her husband to get her out of bed in the morning, mow the lawn to her liking, or tell him where she was. No, she admitted.
“But is this the person you entrusted with the murder weapon?” asked Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Keast.
“I did,” she said.
Cross-examination will be held in the trial of Jennifer Crumbley, who is charged with four counts of manslaughter for her role in the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford High School that killed four students and injured seven others. It was held at the end of the. After she finished her cross-examination on Friday, the defense adjourned the case and closing arguments began shortly after noon.
Her husband is scheduled to go on trial on the same charges in early March.
This case represents an unusual and novel legal strategy to hold the parents of school shooters personally accountable and halt the scourge of mass shootings in America.
Prosecutors said she was “grossly negligent'' in gifting her then-15-year-old son a gun and failing to get him proper mental health treatment, despite red flags, and that she was responsible for the death. She claimed to have one. Prosecutors rested their case Thursday after nearly a week of testimony from shooting victims, law enforcement officers, school officials and people who knew Jennifer Crumbley.
However, the defense argued that responsibility lies elsewhere. The husband improperly secured his firearm. About the school that didn't notify her about her son's problem behavior. And about Ethan himself, who actually pulled the trigger. Jennifer Crumbley was the only witness called.
“I asked myself if I would have done anything differently, and I wouldn't have,” she testified Thursday.
On cross-examination Friday, prosecutors tried to portray Jennifer Crumbley as a careless mother who was more focused on horses and an affair than her son's well-being.
She admitted that during a meeting on the morning of the shooting, she did not tell school officials, who were worried about her son's safety, that she and her husband had recently gifted him a gun. “I thought it didn't matter, no,” she testified.
Mother blames husband and school
Jennifer Crumbley testified for several hours Thursday. Her husband was responsible for securing a gun that she had purchased as a Christmas present for her son on Black Friday.
“I didn't feel comfortable being in charge of it. It was his thing, so I left it to him. I was reluctant to lock it up,” she said.
She also testified that her son never sought help for his mental health issues, contrary to his private diary and emails to friends. She said he expressed some anxiety about taking the test and what he would do after high school, but “not so much that I felt he needed to see a psychiatrist or mental health professional right away.” '' he said.
She acknowledged that her son had sent multiple messages saying he had seen ghosts and claimed the house was haunted, but she testified that he was not serious.
“He was just kidding,” she testified.
She also testified that she was unaware of school emails discussing her son's behavioral problems before the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting. She also said that hours before the shooting, she was called to school to discuss a disturbing picture of Ethan drawn on a math worksheet. she said. Staff were “indifferent” about the incident and allowed him to remain in class.
Unbeknownst to those attending the meeting, Ethan Crumbley had a concealed firearm in his backpack. Later that day, he pulled out his gun and fired at his classmates.
Overall, her testimony Thursday paints her as a normal mom who balances a full-time marketing job with taking care of her home, playing board games with her son, and traveling on family vacations. The focus was on portraying. She trusted her son, she said, and she didn't read his text messages.
“As a parent, you spend your life protecting your child from other dangers,” Jennifer Crumbley testified. “You would never feel like you have to protect your child from harming others. It was about hurting and killing other people.”
Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of murder, and 19 other charges related to the deadly rampage. He was sentenced last year to life in prison without parole.
