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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.”
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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.
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“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)
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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.
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“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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.
On June 9, North Dakota voters will decide Constitutional Amendment 1, which would, if approved, create a single-subject rule for future constitutional amendments. A single-subject rule is a requirement for ballot measures to address a single subject, topic, or issue. Constitutional Amendment 1 would also establish a separate-vote requirement for legislatively referred constitutional amendments. This […]
Ohio State University has reached a $100 million settlement with nearly 300 former students who had accused the school’s campus doctor of sexually assaulting them decades ago, the school and a lawyer for the victims said on Wednesday.
The settlement with 279 of the 280 former students was ratified by the university’s board on Wednesday. It followed years of litigation overaccusations of decades of abuse by Richard Strauss.
The abuse occurred from 1978 to 1998, the year he retired from the faculty.
“The mediation and its confidentiality are continuing as the parties work to finalize the details of the settlements, and additional information will be shared as appropriate,” the school and a lawyer for the victims said in a joint statement.
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In February, the university reached eight additional settlements, bringing the total to 304 survivors and more than $60 million.
Strauss, who killed himself in 2005, was employed by Ohio State’s athletic department and medical staff for nearly two decades.
A 2019 report detailing the investigative findings said that Strauss had sexually abused at least 177 men, nearly all of whom were students, and that university staff who knew of the abuse failed to act. The abuse included groping and fondling of the students’ genitals and other acts under the guise of a medical examination.
News of the investigation and its findings prompted more than 500 plaintiffs to sue Ohio State, alleging they had been sexually abused by Strauss and that the school had shown deliberate indifference.
A tornado watch has been issued for much of central and eastern South Dakota as forecasters warn conditions are favorable for tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds Wednesday evening.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center issued the watch at 4:05 p.m. CDT, and it will remain in effect until 11 p.m. It includes dozens of counties across central and eastern South Dakota, as well as parts of southeastern North Dakota and western Minnesota.
More: Tornado watch issued? Here’s what to do when sirens go off
Forecasters expect thunderstorms to develop along and ahead of a cold front moving southeast across the Dakotas. The strongest storms could become supercells capable of producing all severe weather hazards.
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The severe weather threat is expected to continue Thursday, when another round of strong to severe thunderstorms could develop across parts of South Dakota. Large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes will again be possible.
What are expected impacts of South Dakota storms?
Storms that remain isolated could produce tornadoes and very large hail before merging into a line of thunderstorms later in the evening, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Once storms organize into a line, damaging winds are expected to become the main threat, although brief tornadoes and hail will remain possible.
The National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls said portions of southeastern South Dakota face a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather Wednesday evening. Atmospheric conditions include high instability, increasing wind shear and abundant moisture, creating an environment supportive of severe thunderstorms.
In addition to severe weather, some areas could receive heavy rainfall. Most locations are expected to receive between a quarter-inch and three-quarters of an inch of rain, although isolated areas could see more than an inch. Widespread flooding is not expected, but localized flooding could occur in areas that recently received heavy rainfall.
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Where will storms hit in South Dakota?
Storms are expected to develop in central South Dakota between late afternoon and early evening before moving east through the night. Forecasters expect the strongest storms to reach the Interstate 29 corridor between about 10 p.m. and midnight.
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Brandi D. Addison covers weather across the United States as the Weather Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. She can be reached at baddison@gannett.com.
