PONTIAC, Mich. — James Crumbley, whose teenage son killed four students in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter by an Oakland County, Mich., jury Thursday in a verdict that caps two separate trials that made Crumbley and his wife the first parents of a school shooter to face homicide-level charges for their child’s crime.
Washington
Father of Oxford shooter found guilty of involuntary manslaughter
The jury of six men and six women deliberated for nearly 11 hours before finding Crumbly, 47, guilty of all four involuntary manslaughter counts. The verdict concluded the brisk eight-day trial that largely lacked the drama and hostility between the defense and prosecutors seen in Jennifer Crumbley’s trial, which ended last month with her conviction on four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
The Crumbleys’ son, Ethan, was sentenced last year to life without parole for killing Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17, and injuring seven others in the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting. The shooter, who was 15 years old when he committed the killings, was charged as an adult and later pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree murder and terrorism. On the day of the shooting, he hid in his backpack a 9mm Sig Sauer gun that his father bought four days prior as an early Christmas gift.
James and Jennifer Crumbley faced identical charges but were tried separately in a closely watched case that sits at the vanguard of a new strategy by some prosecutors to look more broadly at who can or should be held accountable when a child harms others with a gun. Sentencing for both Crumbleys is set for April 9.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald took the rare step of charging the Crumbleys within days of the shooting, and that move has since been followed in cases like the deadly 2022 Fourth of July shooting in Highland Park, Ill.: Prosecutors last year secured a guilty plea from the shooter’s father for misdemeanor reckless conduct for his role in facilitating his son’s gun access.
James Crumbley was silent and shook his head as the jury foreperson read the verdict. Meanwhile, Nicole Beausoleil, Baldwin’s mother, leaned forward and cried. As the courtroom cleared, families of the victims stopped to shake hands and hug McDonald.
In an emotional news conference following the verdict, McDonald and the parents of the victims called out the urgency of curbing gun violence and improving mental health support for children.
“I refuse to take a victory lap with these prosecutions, it will not bring back these kids,” McDonald said, noting that while the three convictions were critical, they alone won’t solve gun violence.
“Gun violence is the number one cause of death for children in this country and it is a public health crisis,” McDonald said. “And we will not be able to address it until we start treating it like a public health crisis — and yes, access to guns is a critical piece of that.”
Steve St. Juliana, Hana’s father, and Buck Myre, Tate’s father, both said tackling gun violence and mental health are bipartisan issues that demand immediate action.
“We complain about Second Amendment rights, or we say, ‘Oh there’s not enough money […] for mental health issues,” St. Juliana said. “We can put people on the moon and we can build skyscrapers [but] we can’t keep … our kids safe in schools. I think people just need to wake up.”
Gun-control advocates praised the verdict. Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy at the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety, said parents have a responsibility to prevent children from accessing guns.
“Once again, today’s guilty verdict of James Crumbley further underscores this critical duty of responsible gun ownership,” Suplina said. “The deadly shooting at Oxford High School in 2021 should have been prevented had Jennifer and James Crumbley taken basic precautions, like securely storing firearms in the home, to prevent their 15-year-old son from bringing a gun to school and killing four children and wounding seven others.”
Much evidence and nearly all of the witnesses from James Crumbley’s trial were already previewed in his wife’s trial. The second time around, the trial moved quicker, with fewer clashes between lawyers and more precise arguments from each side. Most notably, after Jennifer Crumbley gave testimony that may have doomed her for the jury, James Crumbley decided not take the stand in his own trial; the defense’s only witness was Karen Crumbley, his sister.
The prosecution’s overarching argument remained the same: James Crumbley bought a gun for a teen who was clearly troubled, failed to secure it, and failed to take steps before the shooting and on that morning that could have prevented the eventual tragedy.
“It only took one tragically small measure of ordinary care to avoid four deaths,” McDonald said during closing arguments.
Prosecutors pointed to the morning of the shooting, when the Crumbley parents were summoned to the school after a teacher saw their son draw pictures of a gun, a bullet-riddled body and a cry-laughing face on a math assignment alongside phrases like, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me,” “the world is dead,” and “blood everywhere.” McDonald said Crumbley failed a legal duty to prevent his son from harming others with actions that were or should have been “foreseeable” to Crumbley.
The jury saw journal entries where the shooter wrote desperate musings like: “I have zero HELP for my mental problems and it’s causing me to shoot up the f—ing school” and “I want help but my parents won’t listen to me so I can’t get any help.”
Jurors also saw the shooter’s text to his friend where he wrote, “I told my dad to take me to the doctor yesterday, but he gave me some pills and told me to suck it up.”
McDonald said Crumbley knew his son was having some kind of trouble as she ticked off the clues: His son was upset about the family dog dying, about his friend moving away, about his grandmother dying, about pandemic isolation; he knew his son had looked up bullets and watched violent videos — and had seen the drawing the morning of the shooting.
“How many times does this kid have to say it?” McDonald said, raising her voice during closing.
Donning a pair of blue gloves, McDonald picked up the murder weapon during the final part of her closing and quickly inserted a cable lock into the gun.
“It only takes ten seconds. Ten seconds of the easiest, simplest thing,” McDonald said. The cable lock was later found in the home, unused, and with an accompanying safety manual.
Defense attorney Marielle Lehman said the charges against Crumbley are “assumptions and hindsight.”
It’s easy to look back at warning signs and call them obvious, Lehman said. Prosecutors presented the shooter’s journal entries that detailed his desire — and later plans — to shoot up the school, as well as text messages with his best friend where he talked about handling the gun his father purchased.
Lehman said there was no evidence Crumbley saw his son’s journal or text messages with friends, or knew his son accessed guns and ammunition without supervision. She also cited a prosecutor’s witness, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Agent Brett Brandon, who testified “‘there are multiple ways to store a firearm responsibly,’ not just the way the prosecution described,” Lehman said.
Crumbley told sheriff’s deputies during an interview following the shooting that he kept the gun hidden in a case in his bedroom armoire and hid the bullets separately under a pile of jeans.
Lehman sought to distance Crumbley from the prosecution’s characterization that the weapon belonged to the shooter.
“If it really were his son’s gun, why was it hidden in [James’] bedroom? In a location his son was not aware of?” Lehman said.
The defense also asserted publicly for the first time that while Crumbley knew his son had access to a gun, the school did, too.
School staffers testified they thought the shooter was troubled, but saw him more as a danger to himself rather than others.
Neither the parents nor school staff searched the shooter’s backpack before he was sent back to class. Little more than two hours later, Crumbley learned there was a shooting at the school and dialed 911 explaining a gun was missing from the home and that he and his wife had been called to speak with his son’s counselor that morning.
“I think my son took the gun,” Crumbley is heard on tape saying frantically. “I’m freaking out.”
Shannon Smith, an attorney for Jennifer Crumbley, said she and her client were declining interviews.
“We believe the victims, their families, and the community need and deserve the space and time to begin healing from this tragedy,” Smith said in a statement late Thursday.
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Washington’s National Mall is set to be drained again for repairs after algae and peeling paint appeared just weeks after a US$14.7 million renovation, while President Donald Trump threatened prison time for anyone caught damaging the pool.
The DC Water authority issued a permit to drain the 609-metre rectangular pool, it said on Monday, while the repair company said it would fix the pool as part of its warranty.
Peeling paint and algae growth have been visible in the pool since soon after Trump declared the renovation project complete on June 6. Critics have raised concerns about the no-bid contract to recoat the pool before the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations next month, as well as for the ducks that use its water. Workers from the National Park Service earlier this week poured hydrogen peroxide into the pool to combat the algae.
Trump, without evidence, has blamed vandals for the state of the landmark. On Monday, he echoed a weekend threat by US Attorney Jeanine Pirro to prosecute people accused of attempting to destroy the pool.
“Please remember that there is a 10-year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things – Which will be fully enforced!” Trump earlier wrote in a social media post. Destruction of federal property can carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
It was not immediately apparent what criminal or civil violation someone might commit reaching into the pool.
Half a year can be an eternity in the NBA.
Seven months ago, as Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks headed toward a divorce, Young’s value within the league had never been lower.
On Monday, Young and the Washington Wizards agreed to a new four-year, maximum-salary contract worth approximately $212.9 million, according to a league source. The fourth year of the contract will be a player option.
Young’s first-year salary is estimated to be $49.5 million, which amounts to 30 percent of the projected 2026-27 salary cap of $165 million. During the 2029-30 season, the final year of the contract, Young will earn $56.9 million if he accepts his player option.
Wizards officials would love it, of course, if Young can return to the form that made him an All-NBA Third Team player during the 2021-22 season. But at the very least, they place significant value on knowing that their team’s offense will start with him on most occasions, and that he will be around to shoulder a large portion of the scoring load while the team’s young players, who comprise the team’s long-term nucleus, continue to improve.
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That Young will receive such large annual salaries no doubt will come as a shock to many observers, especially after Young’s reputation took a beating toward the end of his Hawks tenure. The NBA rumor mill, which is often inaccurate, predicted months ago that any new deal between Young and the Wizards would average no more than $40 million annually.
But in recent weeks, Wizards decision-makers became convinced that, with the NBA’s new anti-tanking measures compelling more teams to compete, Young was going to command maximum-salary contract offers from other franchises through either a straight free-agent signing or a sign-and-trade proposal.
Because the Wizards hold Young’s Bird rights, the Wizards had the latitude to offer Young up to a five-year contract with 8 percent annual raises. But Young’s new four-year deal instead features 5 percent year-over-year raises, the maximum year-over-year raise that any other team could have offered Young as a non-Bird free agent. For Washington, the difference between signing Young to 5 percent raises instead of 8 percent raises will amount to a total savings of $8.9 million over four years.
Wizards officials are not concerned that Young’s new contract will age poorly and prevent them from making future moves to improve their roster. Anthony Davis, who is due to earn $58.5 million in 2026-27, and Young are now Washington’s highest-paid players on its young roster, but the person with the third-largest salary is big man Alex Sarr, who will be paid the relatively small sum of $12.3 million this season. At the earliest, the Wizards do not expect to approach the dreaded first apron until the 2028-29 season, when any new rookie-scale contract extensions for Sarr and Kyshawn George would go into effect.
Plus, Wizards officials reason that Young, who will turn 28 years old in September, will remain in his prime years through the end of his contract. The onerous large contracts that age the worst — potentially Jimmy Butler’s current deal with the Golden State Warriors and Paul George’s current deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, for example — tend to be contracts in which players already are past their primes at the start of their contracts.
Young is by no means a perfect player. Undersized at 6 feet 1, and undeniably more focused on the offensive end of the floor, he tended to be a significant defensive liability throughout his Hawks tenure. That trend could worsen if he begins to lose a step (or two) over the next several years.
At the same time, though, Wizards officials have always known that their lineups would have to feature enough positional size and enough defensive-oriented players to compensate for Young’s shortcomings — in the same way that the defensive liabilities of LaMelo Ball, Jalen Brunson, Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving and Donovan Mitchell (and others) are compensated for by their respective teams.
The Wizards’ decision-makers believe Davis and youngsters Bilal Coulibaly, Davis, George, Sarr and whomever they pick first overall in Tuesday night’s draft will develop into strong enough defenders to help Young.
Young appeared in only five games for Washington last season after his trade from Atlanta for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. That was a large enough sample size to demonstrate how his gravity and his passing skill could create open shots for his new teammates. George, Tre Johnson and others should receive more wide-open 3-point looks when Young directs the offense, and Sarr and Davis should feast on lobs from Young in pick-and-rolls.
Only 16 players in NBA history have averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in the same season, according to Basketball Reference. Young is one of those players, and he has done it three times, during the 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. The only other players who have had at least three seasons of at least 20 points and 10 assists per game are James Harden (four times), Kevin Johnson (three times), Magic Johnson (three times), Oscar Robertson (five times), Isiah Thomas (four times) and Russell Westbrook (five times).
The franchise expects Young to make Washington’s offense more efficient and, because opponents will have to take the ball out of their net more often, give Washington’s defense more opportunities to set itself.
July 6 is the first day when new free-agent contracts may be signed and made official.
President Trump did not provide evidence that vandals damaged the Reflecting Pool. The $14 million renovation marked the latest in his efforts to beautify Washington, D.C.
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump claimed Saturday, without providing evidence, that vandals damaged the algae-plagued Reflecting Pool on the National Mall and that the water will need to be drained for repairs.
Trump said police arrested “many additional people” for the vandalism, though one told CNN he was merely touching a piece of partially detached blue material from the recent renovation.
A senior administration official said police arrested five people for vandalism and issued federal citations to five others. The official said there were 14 police reports over vanadlism including for an alleged incident where a more than 250-foot section was cut with a blade.
“The Reflecting Pool was never so beautiful as it was just one week ago,” Trump said, adding that it will repaired quickly. Trump’s recent renovation, totaling $14 million, marked the latest in the president’s efforts to beautify Washington, DC, with architectural changes that have included building a White House ballroom and refurbishing run-down fountains.
Now, what was meant to be a straightforward task to return the century-old pool to its intended glory ahead of America’s 250th anniversary has become a spectacle, drawing tourists and locals to the pool for the wrong reason.
Three-time US Olympian David Hearn told CNN that police arrested him Friday after he said he touched a flap of blue material partially detached from the bottom of the pool. Hearn, who says he has a background in material science, told CNN he checked it out following a bike ride after reading reports of algae in the water and paint or sealant peeling off the bottom.
Hearn said he was curious about a partially attached blue flap he saw at the bottom of the Reflecting Pool. Upon reaching into the water, Hearn said he “sort of felt the end” and “bent it around a little bit.”
Hearn said a US National Park Service staffer instructed him not to reach into the water. After Hearn returned to his bike, he said was soon encountered by National Guard members and eventually arrested by the US Park Police. He said he was charged with destruction and defacing government property and disobeying a government employee.
The Olympic canoeist denied vandalizing the Reflecting Pool and said his actions were that of a “curious citizen.”
“There’s nothing about the Reflecting Pool that was in any different condition after I left there than it had before I went by there yesterday. I didn’t remove anything. I didn’t break, tear, peel, or rip, or destroy anything,” Hearn said Saturday.
He is set to appear in court on July 9. CNN has reached out to the US Park Police and the National Park Service to ask about Hearn’s account and for information on any other arrests.
Pet project for the president
Earlier this year, the president described the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as “absolutely filthy,” vowing to clean up the landmark and make it “look gorgeous, beautiful” so it reflects the federal monuments around it.
But with the Fourth of July and America’s 250th anniversary fast approaching, the pool that sits near the feet of Abraham Lincoln’s statue has instead come to reflect the deep divisions over those beautification efforts — and Trump’s presidency itself.
Trump on Friday first echoed claims that surfaced in right-wing circles that the pool’s broader problems are a result of vandalism, and linked it to the etching of “8647” into the grass on the National Mall days prior, adding that law enforcement is investigating.
“We’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, without citing evidence. He said the algae was “75% gone” and the “vandalized” area will be fixed early next week.
Tourists and local residents alike have flocked to the site in recent days, shooting video of the murky green water for social media posts that feature either a condemnation of Trump’s presidency or a passionate defense of the effort to clean up DC. Some peeled off strips of the blue material to take as souvenirs. Others filmed federal workers pouring bottles of hydrogen peroxide into the water.
The Interior Department has dismissed the visible signs of algae that have only become more abundant as DC’s warm, muggy weather fosters its growth. In a post on X Wednesday, the department’s press office touted its efforts to clear out the algae and described the water as being “crystal clear.”
CNN has reached out to the Interior Department for comment and additional details on the cleanup efforts.
Trump set out in late March to accomplish the renovation that has eluded previous presidents. In a post on Truth Social, he criticized the Biden administration for not taking on the project after a $34 million reconstruction effort under President Barack Obama proved unsuccessful.
In the weeks that followed, Trump expanded the scope of the project and ordered cosmetic changes, including painting the bottom of the pool “American flag blue.” The paint change immediately sparked a lawsuit from a nonprofit group, which argued the project violated federal laws requiring the Interior Department to complete a consultation process before beginning the work.
The president also wanted the project to be complete before July Fourth, an expedited timeline that the administration acknowledged drove up the cost — nearly seven times as much as the initial estimate of $1.8 million.
Trump made a visit to the site to survey progress, and weeks before it was complete, he began celebrating by posting an AI-generated image to Truth Social of him and some of his Cabinet members smiling while floating in the pool.
‘Residual algae’ woes
But just a day after the reservoir was filled with water, algae was already visible from the water’s edge.
The Interior Department told CNN at the time that the algae was “residual” and a normal part of the early process of restarting water flow.
However, within days, clumps of algae took over the pool, prompting the administration to send in workers to vacuum it out, install a filtration known as the “ozone nanobubbler” and dump in gallons of hydrogen peroxide.
To make matters worse for the Trump administration, earlier this week, blue material at the bottom of pool began peeling off. It is unclear whether the material is paint or sealant or what caused it to come up.
Democrats online were quick to gloat.
“You can’t make this up: after railing about waste, fraud, and abuse, the Trump Administration spent $14 million on a reflecting pool reno that’s now peeling and chock full of algae,” Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said in a post on X. “I’m pressing to get answers for this embarrassing waste of resources.”
Beyond lawmakers, the pool saga has prompted an online debate, filled with false claims and conspiracy theories.
Left-leaning social media users latched onto a clip of a Fox News personality defending the renovation, incorrectly claiming that he was describing the visibly green water as blue. (He was referring to the pool’s bottom.)
Meanwhile, conservative media personality Grant Stinchfield alleged the excessive algae is a product of liberal “sabotage.”
“Is it nefarious? I tend to think so,” Stinchfield told his online viewers from outside the Reflecting Pool.
A video posted by conservative influencer Nick Sortor on Thursday night has also garnered attention. The video appeared to show “8647” traced into the algae at the bottom of the pool. CNN could not independently see that tracing on Saturday. When used as slang, the number 86 can refer to getting rid of or tossing something out. Trump is the 47th president. The phrase has recently been used to signal opposition to Trump.
Outside the pool, a collection of curiosity seekers and social media influencers have also gathered. One woman showed up with a banner painted with a green “Algae” as she chanted, “Algae’s smarter than MAGA.”
Matthew Weimer of California, who was in Washington, DC, to visit friends, applauded the renovation.
“I think it’s pretty great that somebody cared enough to do something about it,” Weimer said. When asked about criticisms over the pool, he said: “The people who are criticizing, what are they doing to make things better?”
Qayla Sykes, who visited from Connecticut for a bachelorette party, made a quick stop at the National Mall to take in the spectacle.
“It looks pretty gross. I’ve taken about like 20 pictures already, especially of the people cleaning it, because I don’t know if I’ll ever see this again in my lifetime,” she said. “Hopefully not.”
The-CNN-Wire
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