Current:Home > MyBoth sides rest in manslaughter trial of Michigan school shooter’s dad -ProsperityStream Academy
Both sides rest in manslaughter trial of Michigan school shooter’s dad
View
Date:2025-04-13 13:03:41
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — Lawyers prepared for closing arguments Wednesday in the trial of the father of a Michigan school shooter after an out-of-state relative said she didn’t see anything troubling about the teen during two visits in 2021, long before the attack.
Karen Crumbley, the sister of James Crumbley, said she saw her nephew Ethan in Florida and Michigan that spring and summer.
“Do you recall seeing anything concerning about your nephew? Do you recall him saying anything concerning to you?” defense attorney Mariell Lehman asked.
“No,” Karen Crumbley replied.
Lehman appeared to be trying to show jurors that family members saw no signs that would ultimately lead him to commit a mass shooting at Oxford High School. Prosecutors have argued that James Crumbley, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter, could have done more to prevent the killings of four students.
After his sister’s brief appearance, he stood and said he would not testify in his own defense. There were no other defense witnesses.
“We talked about the benefits of you testifying. We talked about the risks of you testifying,” Lehman said.
“That is correct,” James Crumbley said.
Closing arguments on the fifth day of trial were set for early afternoon. Judge Cheryl Matthews implored the jury to avoid overhearing any courthouse chatter about the high-profile trial.
“Starting over would be devastating to everyone,” she said.
James Crumbley, 47, is accused of gross negligence by failing to safely secure the gun used by 15-year-old Ethan.
The boy took the gun from their home to school, killing four students and wounding seven more people on Nov. 30, 2021.
His mental state was declining: Ethan made a macabre drawing of a gun and a wounded man on a math assignment and added disturbing phrases, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”
Yet James and Jennifer Crumbley declined to take Ethan home following a brief meeting at the school. He later pulled the Sig Sauer 9 mm handgun from his backpack and began shooting that same day. No one had checked the bag.
The gun was purchased by James Crumbley four days earlier.
The Crumbleys are the first U.S. parents to be charged with having criminal responsibility for a mass school shooting committed by a child. Jennifer Crumbley, 45, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month.
Testifying at her own trial, she told the jury that she wouldn’t have done anything differently.
Ethan Crumbley, now 17, is serving a life prison sentence for murder and terrorism.
___
Follow Ed White on X, formerly Twitter: https://twitter.com/edwritez
veryGood! (3745)
Related
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Justin Theroux Shares Ex Jennifer Aniston Is Still Very Dear to Him Amid Nicole Brydon Bloom Engagement
- Justin Theroux Shares Ex Jennifer Aniston Is Still Very Dear to Him Amid Nicole Brydon Bloom Engagement
- Rural America faces a silent mental health crisis. My dad fought to survive it.
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- JD Vance’s Catholicism helped shape his views. So did this little-known group of Catholic thinkers
- Luca Guadagnino and Daniel Craig present ‘Queer’ to Venice Film Festival
- How Joey King Is Celebrating First Wedding Anniversary to Steven Piet
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- New York man gets 13 months in prison for thousands of harassing calls to Congress
Ranking
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- The Reason Jenn Tran and Devin Strader—Plus 70 Other Bachelor Nation Couples—Broke Up After the Show
- The cost of a Costco membership has officially increased for first time since 2017
- Break in the weather helps contain a wildfire near South Dakota’s second-biggest city
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- The cost of a Costco membership has officially increased for first time since 2017
- Katy Perry Rewards Orlando Bloom With This Sex Act After He Does the Dishes
- The cost of a Costco membership has officially increased for first time since 2017
Recommendation
Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
Injuries reported in shooting at Georgia high school
New Jersey floats $400 million in tax breaks to lure Philadelphia 76ers
Oilers' Leon Draisaitl becomes highest-paid NHL player with $112 million deal
Bodycam footage shows high
Texas deputy fatally shot multiple times on his way to work; suspect in custody
It's Beyoncé's birthday: 43 top moments from her busy year
It's Beyoncé's birthday: 43 top moments from her busy year