James Crumbley's trial continues after emotional day of testimony from Oxford High School victim, detective
James Crumbley trial: Asst. principal learns of shooting
Kristy Gibson-Marshall worked as an assistant principal for Oxford High School when the shooting took place. Gibson-Marshall was the first adult to interact with the shooter. She also was the first to identify one of the shooting victims, and she also recognized the school shooter.
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - More testimony was delivered Friday in James Crumbley's involuntary manslaughter trial. That included an officer who interviewed the Crumbley parents directly after the shooting, an employee with the school, and the manager of the gun store where the weapon was purchased.
See major moments from the trial below. Read the FOX 2 recap of the day's testimony here.
2:31 p.m. - Jury dismissed for the day
Judge Cheryl Matthews dismissed the jury for Friday after the prosecution said they "ran out of witnesses."
She also said they were making good progress.
The trial will resume at 9 a.m. Monday.
1:57 p.m. - Assistant principal takes the stand
Kristy Gibson-Marshall worked as an assistant principal for Oxford High School when the shooting took place. She testified in the previous trial about her approaching the shooter in the midst of his rampage.
Gibson-Marshall was the first adult to interact with the shooter. She also was the first to identify Tate Myre as the victim shot by the Crumbley parent's son, as well as the shooter himself. She checked on Myre when the shooter appeared, recognizing him.
She also saw him holding a gun.
A security official who works with the school had approached Gibson-Marshall unaware of shooting and told her it was a drill. Gibson-Marshall responded that it was "not a F*cking drill" and that someone had been shot.
Gibson-Marshall also observed the shooter being arrested a short time later.
1:18 p.m. - Det. Joe Brian takes the stand
Detective Joe Brian works with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office in the special investigative unit. He's been with the office since 2011. He's also worked at the jail, on the road, and was a computer crimes specialist.
He was assigned to the Oxford substation held within the sheriff's office to interview the shooter. He testified that he called James Crumbley to the substation after interviewing his son.
The interview with James and Jennifer Crumbley is the first time they get any kind of insight into what happened at the school. Jennifer appears to be on her phone most of the time, while James expresses some emotion.
They outlined some of the big events that had played out before the shooting, like their son's friend moving away, the family pet dying, as well as James Crumbley's mother passing away.
At one point, they say "he doesn't do anything. he doesn't get in trouble at school."
12:00 p.m. - Court goes on lunch break
11:24 a.m. - Gun store owner testifies
Cammy Back owned the store that sold the weapon to James Crumbley.
She talked about the sale of the SIG Sauer handgun that was sold to James Crumbley. She confirmed the cable lock that came with the gun was provided by the manufacturer. She also pointed to two different numbers that indicated which gun it was.
She also testified that James Crumbley filled out a trigger lock form that indicated it came with the gun.
He had previously bought two guns from the store over the summer of 2021.
The defense cross-examined Back afterward, pouring over her interactions with the defendant when he bought the gun at the store. There were other questions about the law and if a minor can wield a firearm.
Back wasn't privy to the specifics of the law or the explicit statements written in the ATF pamphlet provided with the gun purchase. The defense said she'll ask for testimony on the specifics of the law when an FBI agent testifies later in the trial.
The SIG Sauer that was purchased by James Crumbley. It includes the cable lock provided by the manufacturer.
11:03 a.m. - Judge calls short break
10:35 a.m. - Robert Koteles testifies
Robert Koteles was called to the stand by the prosecution Friday morning. Koteles worked with the sheriff's office as a forensic scientist. He's been with the sheriff's office for 17 years.
He led the processing of the crime scene at Oxford High School after the shooting on Nov. 30, 2021. He testified the shooter fired his weapon 32 times. He also recovered 18 unfired rounds.
He also described the path the bullets traveled when they were fired into classrooms. Images that weren't shown to the public included a pool of blood in the bathroom where Justin Shilling was killed.
Oakland County forensics officer discusses shooting
Robert Koteles, a forensics officer with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, takes the stand to discuss details of where the shooting occurred at Oxford High School and evidence he collected in the incident on day two of James Crumbley's involuntary manslaughter trial.
10:22 a.m. - "Like I am mentally and physically dying"
During the redirect from the prosecution, Marc Keast asked Wagrowski about text messages between the shooter and his friend. Over 20,000 messages between the two have been collected during the investigation.
During that specific dialogue, there were several messages indicating he was struggling with mental health:
- I asked my dad to take me to the doctor yesterday and he just gave me some pills and told me to "Suck it up"
- I was thinking I (sic) calling 911 so I could go to hospital.
- But then my parents would be really pissed.
- Going to ask my parents to go to the doctor's tomorrow.
- But this time I am going to tell them about the voices.
- Like I am mentally and physically dying
Both legal teams used two redirects Friday morning.
Wagrowski was then released from the stand.
9:41 a.m. - Defense cross-examines forensic analyst
Edward Wagrowski testified from the stand on Thursday and answered questions from the prosecution. He returned to the stand Friday with cross-examination from the defense attorney for James Crumbley.
The defense spent about 40 minutes asking questions.
Marielle Lehman started things by asking about how he identified the shooter. She then dove into many of the same exhibits the prosecution asked about on Thursday that Wagrowski found during his investigation.
She asked about what can't be observed in the photos and videos of the shooter holding a firearm. "You don't know what's happening outside the frame of that photo," Lehman asked. Wagrowski said he did not.
She also confirmed that James' GPS data shows he was home at the time some of the videos were sent from the shooter's phone.
Another exhibit Lehman asked about was the voicemail left on Jennifer Crumbley's phone by an official with the school. They were worried about the shooter's behavior in class and looking up bullets. There's no dialogue showing Jennifer telling James she got a voicemail.
There is a message string between Jennifer and James discussing the incident after Mr. Crumbley picked up his son from school.
9:26 a.m. - James Crumbley enters the courtroom
Recap from Day 1
On the first day of testimony, Molly Darnell, a teacher who was shot by James's son at Oxford High School, took the stand to recount the moments she came face-to-face with the shooter. She described the whole afternoon of Nov. 30, 2021, at times in tears, and showed where she had been struck by a bullet.
"He was aiming to kill me," she testified.
Another witness called to testify Thursday was Edward Wagrowski, a former Oakland County Sheriff's Office detective, who responded to the school in the midst of the shooting.
MORE: Officials say James Crumbley made threatening statements from jail
As the court day wound down, it was also learned that James had allegedly been threatening people from inside the Oakland County Jail. The prosecution asked for his communications to be limited, and Judge Cheryl Matthews approved that request.
What is James Crumbley charged with?
James Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count for each student killed by his son at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021.
A jury found his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, guilty of the same charges in early February. She will be sentenced on April 9.
What did James Crumbley do?
James Crumbley is accused of buying his son the gun used to kill four people and injure others.
His son pleaded guilty to all charges against him and is now in prison. During his plea hearing, he admitted that he gave James the money to buy the gun.
During Jennifer's trial, she testified that the gun was her husband's responsibility; she said she was not comfortable with guns and was not involved in handling or buying it. She also testified that James had hidden the gun before their son took it to school.
The parents are also accused of ignoring concerns about their son's mental health.
Witnesses called by the prosecution during Jennifer's trial described a meeting between the Crumbley parents and school officials the morning of the shooting. The parents were called after violent drawings were discovered on their son's schoolwork.
During this meeting, a school counselor told the parents to get their son mental health help as soon as possible and recommended that they take him home from school. However, the parents chose not to take him home.
What kind of sentence is James Crumbley facing?
Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison in Michigan. The court does have the discretion to do consecutive sentencing, which, due to the four counts, would be 60 years. However, the maximum he could get will likely be 15 years.
James Crumbley's trial so far
Read recaps of each day of testimony below:
Teacher, former Oakland County detective testify