OXFORD, Mich. – The guilty verdict for Jennifer Crumbley was a landmark ruling in the case of the Oxford High School shooting, but we likely haven’t seen the last of her, her husband, or her son.
A jury deliberated for about a day and a half before finding Jennifer Crumbley guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter -- one for each of the Oxford High School students who were killed by her son during the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting.
But that ruling doesn’t put the case to rest -- not by a long shot.
Jennifer Crumbley
When the jury foreperson read that Jennifer Crumbley was “guilty” of the first involuntary manslaughter charge, she closed her eyes dropped her head in defeat. But legal experts don’t believe this battle is over.
Jennifer Crumbley’s next court date is scheduled for April 9, when she will return to be sentenced. She could receive up to a maximum of 15 years in prison for her concurrent counts, with about two years’ worth of time served.
After the verdict was handed down, several legal experts spoke with Local 4′s Mara MacDonald and told her that this was a winnable case.
“They wonder if it sticks on appeal,” Mara reported. “This isn’t over yet.”
For now, Jennifer Crumbley is guilty and scheduled to learn her sentence in two months.
James Crumbley
Jennifer and James Crumbley were originally going to be tried together, but they decided at the 11th hour to request separate trials. That request was granted.
James Crumbley’s trial is scheduled to begin March 5, and it will feature a new jury and a clean slate of evidence.
Prosecutors will likely follow a variation of the strategy they used during the Jennifer Crumbley trial. They’ll show evidence from the school shooting, call investigators to the stand, and try to prove that James Crumbley was either grossly negligent or failed to perform a legal duty. Or both.
His lawyers were surely monitoring his wife’s trial. We’ll find out next month if they have a different approach than the strategy employed by Jennifer Crumbley’s defense attorney, Shannon Smith.
Oxford High School shooter
The shooter pleaded guilty to all 24 counts in October 2022 and was sentenced to life in prison without parole in December 2023. He’s currently at the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer until he turns 18 and can be moved to a permanent prison.
So that’s that, right? Not necessarily.
During Jennifer Crumbley’s trial, Smith argued on more than one occasion that she should be allowed to call the shooter to the stand to testify in his mother’s defense.
Here’s the problem: The shooter has a right to invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid incriminating himself on the witness stand. If he invokes the Fifth Amendment on the stand, then the judge would declare a mistrial.
Click here to read a much deeper dive into the complexities of this issue.
Smith argued that since the shooter has pleaded guilty to several felony charges in adult court and been sentenced, he no longer has the right to plead the Fifth.
“You think that’s over?” Judge Cheryl Matthews asked.
“He’s going to pursue an appeal, I don’t disagree,” Smith replied.
Matthews told the court she believes the shooter’s attempts to appeal his sentence will continue beyond her retirement. The shooter is trying to win the possibility of parole.
We don’t know of any specific dates yet, but it sounds like the shooter will be back in court at some point.