Midwest
Michigan school shooter's mom wants house arrest, backtracks on regrets as killer's parents face sentencings
The parents of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley are set to be sentenced on Tuesday after two juries found both parents guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the November 2021 massacre.
Prosecutors are asking Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews to sentence James and Jennifer Crumbley to serve between 10 and 15 years each, but the Crumbleys’ defense attorneys are asking for time served, meaning no other prison time other than what they have already served awaiting their trials.
Jennifer is also asking for house arrest and proposed living in her attorney’s guesthouse.
“I think that’s very strange. I’ve never heard of a situation like that,” Detroit-based criminal defense attorney Maurice Davis told Fox News Digital of Jennifer’s request.
JAMES CRUMBLEY TRIAL: MICHIGAN JURY REACHES VERDICT FOR SCHOOL SHOOTER’S FATHER
James and Jennifer Crumbley are asking to be sentenced to time served or no additional prison time. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP/Pool)
Prosecutor Marc Keast described the parents’ proposed sentences of time served as “a slap in the face” to the shooting victims in a memo released last week, adding that both parents have shown “a lack of remorse” for their roles in the tragedy, according to local reports.
At one point during her trial, Jennifer said she “wouldn’t have” done anything differently if given the chance.
JENNIFER CRUMBLEY TRIAL: MICHIGAN JURY FINDS SCHOOL SHOOTER’S MOM GUILTY OF INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER
Jennifer Crumbley reacts after seeing video of her son, which showed him walking through Oxford High School during his Nov. 30, 2021, shooting rampage, in the courtroom of Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews on Jan. 25, 2024, in Pontiac, Michigan. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP/Pool)
“Of course, I look back after all this happened, and I have asked myself if I would have done anything differently. I wouldn’t have,” Jennifer testified, adding that she wishes her son would have killed her and her husband, James Crumbley, “instead.”
In a pre-sentencing statement, Jennifer Crumbley backtracked on her own testimony.
WATCH: Jennifer Crumbley testifies during her trial
“At trial, when I was on the stand I was asked if I would have done anything differently, I testified that I would not have — and that is true without the benefit of of (sic) hindsight that I have now,” Crumbley wrote, according to the Detroit News. “With the information I have now, of course my answer would be hugely different. There are so many things that I would change if I could go back in time. I knew my son to be a quiet, good kid, who loved his pets. I never imagined he would hurt other people in the way that he did.”
“I knew my son to be a quiet, good kid, who loved his pets.”
Keast said in the memo that consistent with Jennifer’s “efforts to minimize her culpability directly after the shooting, defendant — now even after trial — continues to show a complete lack of remorse by minimizing any role she had in the matter,” the Detroit Free Press reported.
James and Jennifer Crumbley are set to be sentenced on April 9. (Oakland County Sheriff’s Office via AP/File)
“Demonstrating this fact, defendant thinks a proportionate sentence is to ‘be placed on a tether with house arrest’ at her attorney’s guest house — ostensibly an upgraded residence from … where she resided before her gross negligence that led to the Oxford High School shooting,” Keast wrote.
MICHIGAN SCHOOL SHOOTER’S MOTHER JENNIFER CRUMBLEY CALLED SON AN ‘OOPSIE BABY,’ WITNESS SAYS
Jennifer’s attorney, Shannon Smith, wrote in court documents that “[p]utting Mrs. Crumbley in prison does nothing to further deter others from committing like offenses.”
“There is no person who would want the events of November 30, 2021, to repeat themselves,” she wrote, according to the Detroit News.
Jennifer Crumbley and her husband were found guilty of contributing to the deaths at Oxford High School by neglecting the needs of their son, Ethan Crumbley, and making a gun accessible at home. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP/Pool)
“Mrs. Crumbley was damned no matter what she did or did not do,” Smith continued. “At trial Mrs. Crumbley’s reactions to the tragic events and learning what her son did were criticized at every turn. The prosecution certainly tried to convey that Mrs. Crumbley did not care enough about what was going on, that she did not cry enough, and that she did not behave the way a mother of a school shooter would behave.”
Meanwhile, James Crumbley is under fire for allegedly making threats toward Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald in jail calls.
MICHIGAN MOM ON TRIAL FOR SON’S DEADLY SHOOTING MASSACRE RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT PARENT CULPABILITY IN SHOOTINGS
McDonald’s office said in a March press release that the “threats are serious, and they also reflect a lack of remorse and a continued refusal to take accountability for his part in the deaths of” the four students who were murdered on Nov. 30, 2021, including Tate Myre, 16; Justin Shilling, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Madisyn Baldwin, 17.
Ethan Crumbley, at age 15, walked into Oxford High School on the morning of Nov. 30, 2021, went to morning classes, met with the school counselor with his parents, and was sent back to class before he took a gun out of his backpack and killed 16-year-old Tate Myre, 16-year-old Justin Shilling, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin. (FOX 2 Detroit)
“Leading up to and during trial, defendant’s behavior and statements showed a complete lack of remorse and disrespect for the court proceedings,” prosecutors wrote in a memo in James’ case, according to the Free Press. “Defendant’s jail calls showed that he blamed everyone but himself for what happened and that he repeatedly referred to himself as being persecuted and considered himself a ‘martyr.’”
OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTER’S MOTHER ASKS TO DISMISS 3 WITNESSES, ‘GRUESOME’ EVIDENCE THAT COULD ANGER JURY
His attorney, Mariell Lehman, wrote in a memo that while “reviewing the phone calls which are alleged to contain threats of physical harm, it is clear that Mr. Crumbley is venting to loved ones about his frustrations related to the lack of investigation done by the prosecution prior to authorizing charges against him and his wife,” the Detroit News reported.
She added that James expressed remorse for those who died in the 2021 shooting in jail calls.
James Crumbley was charged with involuntary manslaughter, accused of failing to secure a gun at home, and ignoring his son’s mental health. Ethan Crumbley killed four students at Oxford High School in 2021. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP/Pool)
“He repeatedly expressed that he wished he had known and that he would have done things differently if he had,” Lehman said.
Oxford police said Ethan used a 9 mm SIG Sauer to shoot up Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021. James purchased the firearm, which contained several rounds of ammunition when authorities recovered it, for his then-15-year-old son just days before the massacre. Jennifer posted about the purchase on social media, calling it a Christmas gift for her teenage son.
Ethan pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism last year. He is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Video showing Jennifer Crumbley with her son, Ethan Crumbley, at a gun range for target practice on Nov. 27, 2021, is shown in the courtroom during Jennifer Crumbley’s trial on Jan. 25, 2024, in Pontiac, Michigan. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP/Pool)
Prosecutors have suggested the Crumbleys could have stopped the shooting before it happened when they arrived at Oxford High on the morning of Nov. 30 to meet with school counselors after Ethan was caught scrawling disturbing notes in class.
His notes included an image of a gun and the phrases “Help me,” “Blood everywhere” and “My life is useless,” along with a drawing of a gun.
MICHIGAN SCHOOL SHOOTER ETHAN CRUMBLEY’S FATHER CALLS HIM ‘PERFECT KID’ IN INTERVIEW WITH POLICE
An Instagram post made by Jennifer Crumbley is shown in the courtroom during her trial on Jan. 25, 2024, in Pontiac, Michigan. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP/Pool)
Instead of taking their son home, prosecutors said, James and Jennifer left him at school and went about their day. Ethan later pulled his father’s handgun, which had not been locked in their home, out of his backpack, fatally shot four students and wounded seven others.
Prosecutors have pointed to Ethan’s journal entries, text messages and videos saying he wanted help and his parents were ignoring him. The day before the school massacre, Ethan made a 19-minute video describing what he was going to do the next day, prosecutors said during Jennifer’s trial.
After the shooting, the Crumbleys allegedly fled Oxford and went to Detroit with $6,000 in cash following some initial questioning from police. U.S. Marshals eventually apprehended them days later on Dec. 4, 2021.
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Kansas
Deadly 4-car crash kills 2 people, injures others in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A crash near a busy highway killed two people and injured two others.
Emergency crews responded to the crash at U.S. 71 Highway and Meyer Boulevard around 12:40 p.m. on Monday, March 2.
When crews arrived they determined four cars were involved in the crash.
Police are investigating how the crash happened.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
Michigan
Opportunity knocks for Michigan’s guards with L.J. Cason out
Ann Arbor — The Wolverines won the outright Big Ten regular-season title with two games to go, but it came at a great cost.
L.J. Cason, Michigan’s backup point guard and a key piece of the rotation, tore his right ACL in the championship-clinching win at Illinois. Just like that, Cason’s season was over and Michigan was hit with a brutal blow.
But when adversity strikes, opportunity knocks. While the team won’t be the same without Cason, coach Dusty May believes Michigan has backcourt pieces who can step up and make up for the loss.
“This is a great opportunity for Roddy (Gayle Jr.), Trey (McKenney) and Nimari (Burnett) to play more, and those guys are really good players,” May said Monday. “Our rotation has been nine and nine, I think, is too deep. It’s playing too many guys, if you want to optimize everyone. But we felt like we had nine guys that deserved to play, that gave us a different element.
“We look at this as another challenge, but it’s also an opportunity for guys to play a little bit more, to play longer periods, to play through a mistake, to play a little bit different role. We do feel like these guys are a lot better than they were earlier this year, so we’re prepared to handle whatever comes at us.”
May said he doesn’t know exactly when Cason tore his ACL, and neither does Cason. The sophomore guard fell to the court and got up favoring his right leg on two separate occasions against Illinois.
The first instance came in the final minute of the first half, when Cason tipped a long rebound ahead and chased it down to start a fast break. After he grabbed the ball in the air and bounced it backward between his legs to a trailing teammate, Cason went down. He got up hobbling, was subbed out and went back to the locker room.
Cason briefly checked back in during the second half and scored a driving layup a minute into his shift. But on Michigan’s next possession, he fell down after trying to score through contact and got up limping again. Shortly after that, Cason motioned to the Michigan bench to be taken out of the game and he exited for good.
“At halftime, the training staff came and said basically he’s passed all of his jump test. He just did the bike. He says he’s 100% ready to go. I was surprised, because I was expecting him to be out,” May said. “I said, ‘What about the test?’ They said both of his knees are loose, so it’s hard. We don’t feel that anything is torn.
“He comes back in. He lands funny again. … It’s unfortunate for him because he was playing so well. When an ACL pops on a noncontact injury, you’re like, ‘Man, what could we have done different?’ When it happens on a funny, quirky play, usually those are the ones that aren’t preventable.”
May added it hasn’t been determined yet when Cason will undergo surgery. Given the typical recovery timeline for a torn ACL ranges anywhere from nine to 12 months, May said Cason redshirting next season is a possibility that’s “on the table.”
“That’s certainly been discussed as well, and then that impacts the recruiting decision-making,” May said. “But right now, we’re still trying to figure out when he’s going to have it. What’s the timeline? Does it make sense to go ahead and sit out next year? … We haven’t made any definitive decisions, because all the information is so inconclusive.”
Moving forward, the plan isn’t to have just one guy replace Cason, who averaged 8.4 points and 2.4 assists in 18.6 minutes per game, shot 40.2% from 3-point range and served as a facilitator when starting point guard Elliot Cadeau wasn’t on the court. It’ll be a by-committee approach.
That said, Cason’s absence is certainly going to put much more on Cadeau’s shoulders. The Wolverines can ill afford to have Cadeau commit unnecessary fouls and miss long stretches at a time. Without Cason, Cadeau is the one guard who can break down opposing defenses off the dribble and create for others.
“This will force Elliot to be much more solid with his defensive decision-making when it comes to fouling,” May said. “He doesn’t have that insurance policy anymore named L.J. behind him, because L.J. came in and carried the load several games for our group. That’s not there anymore.”
While Burnett, Gayle and McKenney haven’t had to be facilitators in their roles this season, May expressed confidence all three can take on minutes with the ball in their hands and initiate the offense.
Even beyond the guards, May noted the team has “other capable weapons” who can serve as triggers on offense depending on the matchup, like forwards Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. and big man Aday Mara.
Add it all together, May feels the Wolverines can find a way to absorb the blow, fill the void and forge ahead with Cason sidelined.
“We have enough to overcome what L.J. brought to the team,” May said. “I don’t know if he’s the best backup point guard in the country, but I can’t think of one that’s better. We’re losing a lot, but once again, we’re not going to sit here and look at it from that angle.
“This is an opportunity for all these other guys to do a little bit more, and they’re more than capable. It’s on us to find the right rotations and situations. Without a doubt, we have a lot of confidence in our roster.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
@jamesbhawkins
Minnesota
Iran conflict: 250 Minnesota National Guard member serving in Middle East
(FOX 9) – The Minnesota National Guard tells FOX 9 there are currently 250 guard members on regularly scheduled deployment at the United States Central Command areas of responsibility as the United States leads strikes in Iran.
Guardsman in Middle East
What we know:
The Minnesota National Guard says the deployed airmen and soldiers are serving from Duluth’s 148th Fighter Wing, the Marshall-based 1-151 Artillery, and the Stillwater-based 34th Military Police Company.
What they’re saying:
“While their missions and duty locations vary, all are grateful for the strong support of those back home,” writes Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya, State Public Affairs Officer for the Minnesota National Guard.
What we don’t know:
The guard did not disclose the exact bases or countries where the soldiers and airmen are serving.
CENTCOM covers 21 countries including: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
Pres. Trump says Iran operations likely to last 4 to 5 weeks
Big picture view:
In his first public remarks since the launch of the attack on Iran, President Trump said he expected operations to last four to five weeks, but he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”
The president also laid out his objective for the mission: to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, to “annihilate” their navy, to ensure the country doesn’t obtain a nuclear weapon and that the regime “cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”
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