OXFORD, Mich. – The jury reached a verdict in the trial for Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter. She is facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
After a day and a half of deliberation, the jury returned to the courtroom just before 1:40 p.m. Tuesday and found Crumbley guilty on all four counts.
Here are some quick facts about the trial:
- Jennifer and James Crumbley are both facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with their son’s mass shooting. Those charges stem from the deaths of 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, and 17-year-old Justin Shilling.
- The Crumbley parents were originally going to be tried together, but they asked for separate trials in November, and a judge granted their request.
- Defense attorney Shannon Smith represents Jennifer Crumbley. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast, and chief assistant Oakland County Prosecutor David Williams represent the people. Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl A. Matthews is hearing the case.
- The shooter was sentenced in December to life in prison without the chance of parole.
Here are our full updates from Day 9 of the trial:
Sentencing date
- 1:56 p.m. Tuesday
Jennifer Crumbley’s sentencing is scheduled for April 9, according to Shawn Ley.
Expert on sentencing
- 1:52 p.m. Tuesday
Christy asked Swartz about the four counts of involuntary manslaughter, each of which carries a 15-year sentence.
“The runs can be run consecutive and/or concurrent,” Swartz said. “I don’t know where this judge will go. I have an idea, but I really don’t know. That would be pretty severe to sentence Mrs. Crumbley to 60 years. That’s basically a life sentence for her. I think that that’s a bit much. She might stack two of them and run the other two concurrent. I don’t know what she’s going to do, but yes, it’s 15 years per count and they can be stacked one on top of another.”
Prosecutors join gallery, Smith remains at desk
- 1:42 p.m. Tuesday
After the jury left the courtroom, Jennifer Crumbley was escorted out by deputies.
McDonald, Keast, and the rest of the prosecution walked back to join the people in the gallery.
Smith remained at her desk, writing.
Full story on guilty verdict
- 1:39 p.m. Tuesday
Click here to read our full story on the guilty verdict.
Jury finds Jennifer Crumbley guilty
- 1:38 p.m. Tuesday
The jury found Jennifer Crumbley guilty of all four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Jury enters
- 1:37 p.m. Tuesday
The jury entered the courtroom.
‘Are you ready for the jury?’
- 1:36 p.m. Tuesday
“Are you ready for the jury?” Matthews asked. Both sides said yes.
Matthews asked everyone in the gallery to stay seated when the verdict is read.
Judge arrives
- 1:35 p.m. Tuesday
Judge Matthews entered the room, and court is in session.
Jennifer Crumbley enters courtroom
- 1:32 p.m. Tuesday
Jennifer Crumbley entered the courtroom and took her seat next to Smith.
Deputies prepare to bring in Jennifer Crumbley
- 1:29 p.m. Tuesday
Smith was asked if she’s ready for her client to come in. She said yes.
Defense, prosecutors in courtroom
- 1:27 p.m. Tuesday
Prosecutors Marc Keast and Karen McDonald arrived in the courtroom and took their seats.
Defense attorney Shannon Smith was already seated at her table.
Lt. Timothy Willis, ATF Special Agent Brett Brandon, and Prosecutor David Williams are also with the prosecution.
Jury deliberated through lunch
- 1:23 p.m. Tuesday
Shawn Ley said the jury deliberated through lunch on Tuesday, and then reached a verdict shortly after 1 p.m.
Jury has reached verdict
- 1:14 p.m. Tuesday
Local 4′s Shawn Ley has learned that the jury has reached a verdict in the case.
The jury will come out in 15 minutes.
‘No time limit’
- 1:13 p.m. Tuesday
Swartz said there’s no time limit for the jury’s deliberations. Only those 12 people can determine when they’re finished.
“There’s actually no time limit,” Swartz said. “The jury decides when time is up. They will either return a verdict, or eventually, if they are hung, they’ll come out at least one time and say, ‘Judge, we can’t reach a verdict. We think we’re hung.’
“The judge will give them what’s known as an ‘Allen charge,’ a way to try to break the block and reach try to verdict, and if they then cannot reach a verdict, the judge will declare that there is a mistrial, a hung jury, and the case will have to be retried.”
Precedent-setting case?
- 1:03 p.m. Tuesday
Swartz talked about the possibility of this case setting precedent, and he admits he has concerns, but it matters which element of involuntary manslaughter is invoked if the jury finds Jennifer Crumbley guilty.
“There are some lawyers who are saying this isn’t going to be that bad a precedent because Michigan has passed a statute which deals with guns and securing guns,” Swartz said. “The problem is that if they go under the second theory that is there was an easy fix and she was grossly negligent for not doing that easy fix, the question now comes in as to, can you limit that verdict and the precedent it may set -- if it fact the conviction is affirmed -- to only guns?
“I don’t think it can be done that way. My personal opinion is that (in this scenario), now parents are going to have to worry about everything in their home that could be used as a weapon that they’re going to have to keep away from their kids even into when they become teenagers.
“For example, if you’ve got a kid who plays baseball and you’ve got baseball bats in your garage, and he gets into an argument with somebody, gets mad and comes home and gets a baseball bat and beats some other kid’s head in, the question is, ‘Should you have secured those baseball bats? Should you have secured your kitchen knives? Should you have secured your landscaping shears?’ All of these can be weapons. How far are we going to go? And there seems to be no end to the examples that I could give you.
“I’m concerned about the precedent it’s setting that will spread and become far broader than it is now. Other states could take this as persuasive precedent to do the same thing in their states.”
Expert on why we didn’t see any official proceedings this morning
- 12:52 p.m. Tuesday
Local 4′s Christy McDonald spoke with Jeffrey Swartz, a former criminal defense attorney, prosecutor, and county court judge, on Tuesday afternoon about the Jennifer Crumbley trial.
Swartz is a current Cooley law school professor.
He said it’s not unusual for deliberations to continue into a new day without any official proceedings on the record in the courtroom.
“What happens is that the judge is doing other work,” Swartz said. “They have other work to do, and bringing them in and taking a look at them and all the things that go with it takes them away from the group deliberation and involves the court.
“What they tell them is report back to the jury deliberation room. They’re counted. If somebody’s missing, the bailiff will say, ‘We’re missing someone,’ If everybody’s there, the door will be closed. Someone will be there guarding the door, and the judge will be advised everybody’s present and they are deliberating.”
Brett Brandon, Timothy Willis at trial
- 12:46 p.m. Tuesday
Special Agent Brett Brandon completed his testimony on the first day of the trial, but he’s returned to the courtroom for each of the following eight days, sitting behind the prosecution’s table.
Lt. Timothy Willis was the last witness called by the prosecution, and he didn’t take the stand until the sixth day of trial, but he was present for the first five days of proceedings, seated beside McDonald at the prosecutors’ table.
He has remained in that spot for the last three days of court, as well.
Some of the other witnesses who testified might be in the gallery, but Brandon and Willis have been visible at the front of the courtroom the whole time.
‘Murder, I imagine’
- 12:37 p.m. Tuesday
While she cross-examined Lt. Timothy Willis, the person in charge of the school shooting investigation, Smith clarified that there’s no evidence the parents knew about the shooter’s journal entries.
Willis said no, and that if there was any, they wouldn’t be facing involuntary manslaughter charges. The charges would be murder, he said.
Click here to read that full exchange.
Shooter’s proficiency with gun
- 12:22 p.m. Tuesday
Some of the most jarring testimony from the first day of the trial came from ATF Special Agent Brett Brandon, who talked about the shooter’s proficiency with a firearm.
Brandon said he could tell instantly when he watched surveillance footage of the school shooting that the shooter had been trained with a gun. He cited his shooting stance, the way he reloaded before his magazine was empty (“tactical magazine exchange,” Brandon called it), and how he ejected the magazine when he gave himself up to police.
“There was some level of firearms training exhibited in the surveillance video,” Brandon said.
Brandon testified that the tactical magazine exchange is something he learned during ATF training for instances when you always want to make sure you have enough ammunition.
Gun safe code
- 12:09 p.m. Tuesday
One of the matters that was discussed briefly during early testimony was the code to the gun safe that was found in the Crumbley household.
Police said when they found the safe, the code to open it was “000″ -- the factory default setting. Officials said they knew the code and where to find the safe because James Crumbley told them before their search.
Prosecutors hinted that a gun safe that uses the default code to unlock doesn’t provide much security at all. Smith argued that nobody can know for sure if that was always the code.
3 hours of deliberating?
- 12:01 p.m. Tuesday
There still haven’t been any proceedings on the record Tuesday, but if the jury arrived at 9 a.m., they have now been deliberating for about three hours.
After she had to address two questions posed by the jury on Monday afternoon, there hasn’t been any sign of Judge Matthews so far today.
Disputes between lawyers
- 11:59 a.m. Tuesday
Smith and the prosecution went back and forth about a number of issues throughout the proceedings.
Their first big argument stemmed from Smith and Jennifer Crumbley crying while footage from the school shooting was played. Click here to read a breakdown of that confrontation.
The very next day, court ended with the two sides shouting at each other about making jokes in the courtroom and the “parading” of evidence. Click here for that video and a full breakdown.
Unique defense tactics
- 11:47 a.m. Tuesday
It’s been a bit of an unusual ride through this trial for defense attorney Shannon Smith, from quoting Taylor Swift in her opening statement to asking whether she would face child pornography charges if her son sexted a girl in her closing.
Smith had some strong moments during her 100-minute closing argument, but much like during the trial, there were also speed bumps.
Keast and McDonald raised several issues with the judge about Smith’s defense, such as when she joking said, “I’m going to kill myself” while struggling to get the courtroom technology to work. She was accused of coming into this trial with the strategy to admit previously banned information in the middle of proceedings.
But ultimately, Smith’s tactics aren’t on trial.
Former boss describes day of shooting
- 11:34 a.m. Tuesday
Jennifer Crumbley’s boss described the day of the Oxford High School shooting and the moment she found out about it while at the office.
Her boss said he heard a “commotion” outside when Jennifer Crumbley learned there was a shooting at the school.
Click here for a deep dive into his testimony about that day.
Social media response to shooting
- 11:19 a.m. Tuesday
Smith tried several times during the trial to establish that the Crumbleys were afraid for their lives due to backlash from the public about the school shooting. Jennifer Crumbley said she and her husband were hiding due to safety reasons, not running from police.
Testimony from Kira Pennock showed she talked to Jennifer Crumbley about the reaction on Facebook. Pennock told Jennifer Crumbley, “I cannot believe people on Facebook.” Messages with Brian Meloche later showed a similar sentiment.
Prosecutors objected to Smith calling the Facebook reaction “threats.”
What prosecutors had to prove
- 11:05 a.m. Tuesday
The jury can only find Jennifer Crumbley guilty if they believe prosecutors proved at least one of two things: that she failed to perform a legal duty or that she was grossly negligent.
Those are the two elements to involuntary manslaughter, and they’re required to return a guilty verdict.
Click here to read a comprehensive breakdown of what that means.
Reasons shooter gave for math drawing
- 10:59 a.m. Tuesday
When he was brought into the counselor’s office, the shooter gave a list of reasons for why he had drawn a gun and written quotes on a math worksheet.
Hopkins said the shooter seemed “sad” about the death of a dog and his grandmother. Jennifer Crumbley later confirmed that her husband’s mother had died recently.
The shooter also mentioned that his friend had moved out of town. That was later clarified to be the “only friend” who went to get treatment in Wisconsin.
Hopkins said the shooter also cited struggles with remote learning during the COVID pandemic and an argument with his parents the previous night.
The shooter also expressed interest in designing video games.
‘Only friend’ moved away
- 10:47 a.m. Tuesday
Shawn Hopkins testified that one of the reasons the shooter reported being sad the day before and the morning of the shooting was that a close friend had moved away.
This friend was referred to throughout the trial as “the friend,” because he was apparently the only person the shooter hung out with outside of school.
Jennifer Crumbley said the shooter had “friends” he would talk to at school, but nobody else ever came over to their house. She said that one specific friend was in most of the Facebook photos that were shown by Smith (the friend was redacted in those photos).
Before Halloween in 2021, the Crumbleys found out that the friend had gone to Wisconsin to attend a treatment school. They found out when the friend didn’t respond about coming over to carve pumpkins.
The defense says Jennifer Crumbley should have provided more care to her son if she knew his only friend had left the state.
Why information about affair was allowed
- 10:36 a.m. Tuesday
Information about Jennifer Crumbley’s affair with Brian Meloche was supposed to be off limits in court, but that changed mid-trial. She and her attorney are the ones who pushed to allow that information on the record.
Click here to read more about that decision and the circumstances that surrounded it.
This is latest start time of trial
- 10:23 a.m. Tuesday
Tuesday is officially the latest start time for proceedings on the record this trial, though it’s clear jury members have already begun deliberating without any action in the courtroom.
Matthews told the jury to return to the courthouse at 9 a.m. Tuesday, but so far, there has been no action on the record.
Pointing finger at school
- 10:13 a.m. Tuesday
Smith and Jennifer Crumbley also suggested the school should have been more up front with the shooter’s parents about his issues leading up to the shooting.
Smith clarified that the school didn’t tell Jennifer Crumbley about a May 2021 concern from a teacher about him slacking off and sleeping in class or a September 2021 incident in which we wrote that his family was a “mistake.”
Jennifer Crumbley said she would have talked to her son about what was going on if she had known about an email exchange between school employees about her son “having a rough time” on Nov. 10, 2021.
Prosecutors said the Crumbleys should have told school officials that the shooter had access to a gun at home. The defense countered with the argument that school officials should have told the Crumbleys about all these issues.
Both sides claim that they would have acted differently if they had all of the information.
Start times throughout trial
- 10:01 a.m. Tuesday
Judge Matthews joked with the jury on Monday that she would like them to come back for her next trial because they’ve been so consistent with arriving on time. Most days, court has been called into session around 9 a.m.
The only day that started this late was Day 4. Former Oxford High School dean of students Nicholas Ejak and some members of the jury were slowed by morning snow. His testimony didn’t begin until 10:22 a.m. (last Tuesday).
It appears the jury began deliberations Tuesday without any official proceedings on the record.
No proceedings on record so far
- 9:48 a.m. Tuesday
Court was called into session at 9:10 a.m. Monday before alternates were chosen and deliberations began. More than a half hour later on Tuesday, nothing has happened on the record.
Jury deliberation details from Monday
- 9:35 a.m. Tuesday
On Monday, the 12 jurors who were not selected as alternates left the courtroom at 9:49 a.m. to begin their deliberations.
They deliberated until around 12:30 p.m. That’s when Judge Matthews walked into the courtroom and announced she had received a question from the jury about involuntary manslaughter.
After that question was answered, the jury raised another question around 1:30 p.m. Matthews decided she wanted to clarify some of the jury instructions in person, so she brought them back into the courtroom at 1:38 p.m.
They were dismissed three minutes later and deliberated for another three hours. At 4:44 p.m. Monday, Matthews brought them into the courtroom and gave them the plans for Tuesday.
So, in total, deliberations spanned across seven hours from 9:49 a.m. to 4:44 p.m., though there was likely a break for lunch.
Courtroom completely empty
- 9:21 a.m. Tuesday
Right now, the courtroom is completely empty. Neither the prosecution nor the defense are at their tables.
On Monday, Smith was in the courtroom well before 9 a.m., and the prosecutors entered shortly afterward.
Judge wanted to start around 9 a.m.
- 9:10 a.m. Tuesday
When Judge Cheryl Matthews sent the jury home around 4:50 p.m. Monday, she told them to be back at the courthouse by 9 a.m.
If the proceedings follow the same pattern on Tuesday, the jury will be called into the courtroom briefly before beginning their deliberations.
Searching for bullets at school
- 9:01 a.m. Tuesday
Prosecutors played a voicemail from an Oxford High School counselor that was left on Jennifer Crumbley’s phone the day before the shooting. The shooter had been seen researching bullets on his phone during class.
The prosecution pointed out that Jennifer Crumbley didn’t return the voicemail. They also showed a text exchange between her and the shooter, which included a message she sent him that said, “Lol I’m not mad, you just have to learn not to get caught.”
The defense argued that the counselor didn’t ask Jennifer Crumbley to call back and that the counselor also called going to the shooting range a “normal hobby.”
When she took the stand, Jennifer Crumbley said she told her son not to get caught because they often talked in their household about how she was a troublemaker during her high school days.
Second question answered
- 8:49 a.m. Tuesday
Matthews brought the jury into the courtroom and read them items 2.9 and 3.5.
Item 2.9 was not in the hard copy of the jury instructions, but was read to the jurors at the beginning of the trial. Here it is:
“When it’s time for you to decide the case, you are only allowed to consider the evidence that was admitted in the case. Evidence includes only the sworn testimony of witnesses, the exhibits admitted into evidence, and anything else I tell you to consider as evidence.”
Second jury question
- 8:34 a.m. Tuesday
Matthews received a second question from the jury in the afternoon.
“Can we infer anything from evidence for witnesses that the prosecution did not bring, specifically not bring in the shooter or other people who can answer how he specifically got the gun,” Matthews read.
The answer was “no.”
Key piece of jury instructions
- 8:21 a.m. Tuesday
This is the key item that was re-read to the jury on Monday after they asked a question about the two separate ways involuntary manslaughter can be proved.
Here’s item 20.30A:
“The prosecutor asserts two different theories to support the charges of involuntary manslaughter. First, the prosecutor claims that the defendant committed involuntary manslaughter because she failed to perform a legal duty. In the alternative, the prosecutor claims that the defendant committed involuntary manslaughter because she was grossly negligent.
“Those theories are two different ways to prove the same crime. Either or both of these theories, if proven, are sufficient to establish the crime of involuntary manslaughter.
“It’s not necessary that you all agree on which theory has been proven, as long as you all agree that the prosecutor has proved at least one of those theories beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Full jury instructions
- 8:18 a.m. Tuesday
If you want to read the full jury instructions that were given to the jury on Monday, here’s the document:
First question from jury
- 8:03 a.m. Tuesday
The first question from the jury on Monday had to do with items 16.10 and 16.13 of the jury instructions.
“Two different ways that we can conclude involuntary manslaughter,” Matthews read.
She clarified that there are two different ways that involuntary manslaughter can be concluded. Keast asked the court to re-read item 20.30A to emphasize that point.
Matthews agreed that the jury should refer to 20.30A. She also told them to “consider all instructions as a whole.”
Excluded evidence
- 7:52 a.m. Tuesday
Keast said Monday morning that the prosecution excluded five pieces of evidence from what was given to the jury: the shooting video, the photo showing blood in the school bathroom, the crime scene photo showing two victims, and the two videos played with Molly Darnell and Kristy Gibson-Marshall.
He wrote a note to the jury about that excluded data to be sent with the evidence.
Alternate jurors
- 7:39 a.m. Tuesday
Matthews chose five alternates from the 17-member jury -- the jurors in seats 15, 17, 10, four, and nine. They were sequestered separately just in case someone among the other 12 gets sick or has to be dismissed for any reason.
The five alternates can’t discuss the case with each other or anyone else or read about the case.
At the end of the day Monday, Matthews told the jurors in seats 17, four, and 10 will be allowed to sequester at home on Tuesday. The other two will need to return to the courthouse at 9 a.m.
Live updates format for today
- 7:25 a.m. Tuesday
Today’s live updates will be similar to Monday’s article, because while the jury deliberates, there won’t be as much actually happening in the courtroom.
We will bring you updates on everything meaningful that happens, whether it be procedural, instructions from the judge, or action by the jury. For example, on Monday, there were two instances of court being called back into session to discuss questions asked by the jury.
In between, we will include highlights and explanations from the trial, as well as supporting information.
Breakdowns from previous court dates
- 7:12 a.m. Tuesday
If you missed any of our updates from the first eight days of the trial, or from the jury selection process, here are links to those articles:
Court schedule for Tuesday
- 6:58 a.m. Tuesday
Judge Cheryl A. Matthews asked the jury and two of the five alternates to return to the courthouse by 9 a.m. Tuesday to continue their deliberations.
The jury members heard from 21 witnesses called by the prosecution. Jennifer Crumbley was the only person called to the stand by the defense.
Jurors spent all of Monday deliberating the case, and they also asked two questions of the judge. They didn’t come to a verdict.