Midwest

Jennifer Crumbley defense cites Taylor Swift as prosecutors argue mother is responsible in school massacre

Published

2 years ago

January 27, 2024

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Jennifer Crumbley defense cites Taylor Swift as prosecutors argue mother is responsible in school massacre

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The defense attorney for Jennifer Crumbley, mother of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, quoted Taylor Swift lyrics in her opening statements Thursday on the first day of Jennifer’s criminal trial.

“On my way to court today, I blasted Taylor Swift to warm my voice and calm my nerves, and there was a line in one of her songs that summarized what this case is about. ‘Band-Aids don’t stop bullet holes,’ and that’s what this case is about,” Shannon Smith told jurors, referencing Swift’s “Bad Blood.”

Jennifer Crumbley and her husband, James Crumbley, who is being tried separately, are charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter each in Oakland County after Ethan, then 15, killed 16-year-old Tate Myre, 16-year-old Justin Shilling, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, and left seven others severely injured on Nov. 30, 2021.

Smith said the case is about prosecutors trying to cover problems related to the school shooting with “a Band-Aid” — in this case, the involuntary manslaughter charges filed against Jennifer.

MICHIGAN MOM ON TRIAL FOR SON’S DEADLY SHOOTING MASSACRE RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT PARENT CULPABILITY IN SHOOTINGS

Crumbley, 45, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Nov. 30, 2021, attack.

“The prosecution has charged Jennifer Crumbley with involuntary manslaughter in an effort to make the community feel better, in an effort to make people feel like someone is being held responsible, in an effort to send a message to gun owners,” Smith said.

“None of those problems will be solved by charging Jennifer Crumbley with involuntary manslaughter.”
— Shannon Smith

The defense attorney noted that while Jennifer is “not a perfect parent,” prosecutors have “selectively pulled out slivers of evidence from a forest of trees to try and convince you there was something wrong with Ethan,” and his mother “should have known” before he opened fire on Oxford High School.

OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTER’S MOTHER ASKS TO DISMISS 3 WITNESSES, ‘GRUESOME’ EVIDENCE THAT COULD ANGER JURY

Jennifer broke down in tears while seeing a video from the school shooting for the first time in court.

Jennifer Crumbley becomes emotional after seeing video of her son walking through Oxford High School during the 2021, shooting rampage, on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024 in Pontiac, Michigan. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP, Poo)

Prosecutors have argued that Jennifer and James Crumbley purchased the gun that Ethan used in the shooting as a Christmas gift for the then-15-year-old boy. They allege Jennifer posted about the purchase on social media.

Prosecutors have also pointed to Jennifer’s text messages to friends and colleagues indicating she knew something was wrong with her son prior to the shooting.

MICHIGAN SCHOOL SHOOTER ETHAN CRUMBLEY SENTENCED TO LIFE AFTER ADDRESSING COURT: ‘I AM A REALLY BAD PERSON’

On the morning of the shooting, James and Jennifer met with school counselors to discuss a disturbing drawing Ethan had made in class that day. Instead of taking him home, prosecutors say, they left. Ethan Crumbley later took a gun from his backpack and opened fire. He is currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for his crimes.

Assistant prosecutor Marc Keast opened his remarks by naming each of the four victims who were killed on Nov. 30.

“Jennifer Crumbley didn’t pull the trigger that day, but she is responsible for those deaths.”
— Marc Keast

Keast added that there “is no claim” Jennifer Crumbley gifted her son a firearm knowing he would commit a mass shooting, which is why “she is not charged with murder” but involuntary manslaughter, which, “by definition is unintentional,” Keast said.

The assistant prosecutor also presented a photo of the drawing Ethan made on the morning his mother met with school officials.

ETHAN CRUMBLEY DETAILED PLAN TO ‘STALK, RAPE, TORTURE’ AND ‘KILL’ FEMALE CLASSMATE, PROSECUTORS SAY

“The thoughts won’t stop,” Ethan wrote beneath a drawing of a gun, which he crossed out before meeting with school officials, followed by, “Help me.” Above a drawing of a bullet, the drawing says, “Blood everywhere.” Further down on the page are other handwritten words and phrases, including, “My life is useless.”

James and Jennifer Crumbley met with their son and school leaders the morning of the shooting after a teacher caught Ethan Crumbley drawing disturbing images in class. (Oakland County)

The 15-year-old suspect was able to convince school officials during the meeting that the concerning drawings were for a “video game.” His parents “flatly refused” to take their son home, the prosecutor said in 2022.

“Just got to go to my son’s school and meet his counselor. S— day,” Jennifer Crumbley allegedly texted an acquaintance just before 11 a.m. on Nov. 30 in a conversation about her horse lesson scheduled for later that day.

MICHIGAN SCHOOL SHOOTER’S MOM SAYS SON’S ‘DISTURBING’ BIRD TORTURE SHOULDN’T BE USED AGAINST HER

After the meeting, Jennifer Crumbley suggested in another text that she might take Ethan to the horse farm on the afternoon of Nov. 30 after school, saying, “He can’t be left alone.”

After learning that her son was the suspected shooter, Jennifer Crumbley texted her boss, “The gun is gone and so are the bullets,” and “Omg Andy he’s going to kill himself he must be the shooter.” She also said, “Ethan did it.”

Texts are shown from Jennifer Crumbley, mother of Ethan Crumbley, who was sentenced to life in prison for the Oxford High School shooting deaths, during a preliminary examination on involuntary manslaughter charges in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Immediately after the shooting, the Crumbleys allegedly fled their Oxford home as Michigan authorities issued a be-on-the-lookout alert for the couple after the shooting. They were considered fugitives before U.S. Marshals apprehended them on Dec. 4, 2021.

Their attorneys said they fled for their own safety and turned themselves in several days later and have argued the parents could not have predicted their son’s plan to commit a mass shooting.

Ethan said during his December 2023 sentencing that his parents are not to blame because they “did not know,” and the now-17-year-old did not “tell them” what he planned to do.

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Midwest

Ilhan Omar doesn’t have any regrets for her ‘unavoidable’ outburst at State of the Union

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Ilhan Omar doesn’t have any regrets for her ‘unavoidable’ outburst at State of the Union

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., spoke candidly on Wednesday, defending her outbursts during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

Omar, along with colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who was seated next to her, appeared on video repeatedly interrupting and gesturing toward Trump several times throughout his speech.

Omar appeared to shout “You are a murderer” and “You’re a liar.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar, right, with Rep. Rashida Tlaib at her side, spoke at a news conference at the State Capitol. (Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

When appearing on CNN, Omar was pressed by host Wolf Blitzer, who noted that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., asked members of his caucus to either sit in silence or to not attend at all.

“Should you have just boycotted the address? And do you think you violated the guidelines set out by your own leader?” he asked.

“No, I think it was really unavoidable. The president talked about protecting Americans, and I just had to remind him that his administration was responsible for killing two of my constituents,” Omar responded.

“Do you have any regrets at all about the interaction we played between you and President Trump just last night?” Blitzer asked.

“I do not, and I think many people look at that moment when the president says, ‘It is our responsibility to protect Americans,’ and he does not acknowledge the fact that two Americans, two of my constituents, two of our neighbors, were killed,” she said. “And it was important for me to just remind the American people that the president and his administration was responsible for killing two American citizens.”

Blitzer proceeded to ask, with hindsight in mind, whether she still thinks she made the right choice by showing up.

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER WEARS ‘F— ICE’ PIN ON HOUSE FLOOR DURING TRUMP ADDRESS

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., shout at President Donald Trump as he delivers his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“I brought four Minnesotans up as guests for the Minnesota delegation. It was important for us to be there, to bear witness, to hold space for our constituents that have lived through an occupation from federal law enforcement, that have been terrorized, that have seen our neighbors been killed and traumatized in so many ways and, so, no. I think it was really important for my constituents to see me there,” she said.

“It was really important to my constituents to hear that. I was reminding the president that Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed under this administration.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Democrats have rallied around the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good as a means to criticize ICE and immigration enforcement efforts. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

It responded with a Truth Social post from Trump in which he called for critics like Omar and Tlaib to be put on a boat and “send them back from where they came.”

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Alexander.hall@fox.com.

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Detroit, MI

Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit

Published

5 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit

Rex Satterfield hoped to see his 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible snag one of the BASF Great 8 finalist spots at this year’s Detroit Autorama. But winning the Ridler Award — one of the highest honors in the custom car business — was something he didn’t foresee.

“It’s just overwhelming right now,” said the man from Russellville, Tennessee, as he left a ballroom at downtown’s Huntington Place and made his way back to the show floor on Sunday, March 1. “We weren’t expecting this.”

Getting a car recognized as one of the BASF Great 8 vehicles is a win in and of itself as they are considered the “absolute pinnacle of custom automotive craftsmanship worldwide,” according to the show. The cars undergo an intensive judging process.

And this effort had an unexpected and emotional complication with the passing in December 2024 of the original builder, Jeff Wolfenbarger, who was battling cancer even as he continued working on the car named “Elegant Lady.”

Kevin Riffey of Kevin Riffey’s Hot Rods and Restorations in Knoxville stepped in to finish the work Wolfenbarger started. He’d had two other cars in the past make the Great 8. He said the goal with this vehicle was straightforward, calling it a “purpose-built show car.”

From its prominent spot at the front of the show floor, “Elegant Lady” sported a creamy exterior, dubbed Light Coffee. The car carries a 1,000 horsepower Don Hardy race engine. The gauges, wheels and gas tank are custom, and the dash is from a 1956 Pontiac.

Satterfield plans to show the car around some and enjoy the moment with it. He said he’s been a car guy since he was a little kid.

The Ridler Award, named in honor of Detroit Autorama’s first publicist, Don Ridler, comes with a $10,000 prize. It was awarded on the final day of this year’s Detroit Autorama, which ran Friday, Feb. 27-Sunday, March 1. This was the event’s 73rd year.

Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Send your tips and suggestions about cool automotive stuff to elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Weather – Frosty and cold morning, sunny day ahead

Published

6 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels

Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.

Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10

Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5

Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10

Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10

Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10

Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10

6-day planner

FOX6 Weather Extras

Local perspective:

Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:

FOX6 Storm Center app

FOX LOCAL Mobile app

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Big picture view:

Maps and radar

We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.

School and business closings

When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.