James Crumbley made threatening statements from jail, officials say
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - The involuntary manslaughter trial for James Crumbley, father of the Oxford High School shooter, began Thursday more than two years after his son shot and killed four of his fellow students.
Watch Friday's trial coverage live here.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office confirmed late Thursday, following the first day of James' trial, that his phone and electronic messaging access is now restricted due to threatening statements he made while in jail. No details were provided on who James was threatening.
"His access to a phone or electronic messaging is now limited to communication with his lawyer," according to the sheriff's office.
James Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 30, 2021 mass shooting. Jennifer Crumbley, his wife, was convicted on the same charges in February. They’re the first parents of a mass shooter to be charged for their child’s crimes.
The shooter’s parents are accused of ignoring their son's mental health and providing him with the 9 mm gun he used to kill his peers and injure a teacher. Their son was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole late last year.
James Crumbley’s trial began much the same way as his wife’s: Prosecutors said the nightmare that unfolded was preventable, and James Crumbley was in the "best position to stop the shooting."
RELATED: Oxford parent reacts to Jennifer Crumbley's verdict: 'I feel sadly elated'
The jury was sent home for the day around 3:30 p.m. The trial will resume Friday at 9 a.m. Here’s what else happened on Day 1.
James Crumbley at his criminal trial on March 7, 2024
Prosecutor: ‘Nightmare was preventable … and foreseeable’
The prosecution opened the trial by placing the jury inside Oxford High School, calling Nov. 30, 2021 a "nightmare come to life."
"There are three people responsible for the deaths" that happened in the school, Prosecutor Marc Keast said: the shooter who committed murder and his parents, who are "responsible for their gross negligence," Keast said.
"That nightmare was preventable, and it was foreseeable," Keast said. He added that James Crumbley was one person in the world in the "best position to stop the shooting."
James Crumbley trial: Prosecutor's opening statements
Prosecutors said James Crumbley, father of the Oxford High School shooter, is one of "three people in this world criminally responsible" for the deaths of four high school students. "That nightmare was preventable, and it was foreseeable," Prosecutor Marc Keast said.
Details laid out by the prosecution included the cable lock that came with the gun, the moments in the school when the Crumbley parents were called amid concerns about their son's behavior, as well as some of the messages between James and Jennifer talking about that behavior.
Defense opens: ‘He didn’t know’
The defense began their arguments by also placing the jury on the day of the shooting. Marielle Lehman started things by talking about the tragedy at Oxford High School when the Crumbley's son started shooting.
Lehman talked about many of the things that the jury would hear during the trial. But what they wouldn't hear, she said, was that James knew about his son and what he was planning to do.
"James was not aware his son had access. The testimony won't show that. You will not hear that James Crumbley knew what his son was going to do," she said. "You will not hear James even suspected his son was a danger."
Teacher who was shot takes stand as first witness
Molly Darnell, an Oxford High School educator who was shot at the school in 2021, took the stand as the prosecution’s first witness. She was also the first witness to testify at Jennifer Crumbley’s trial.
RELATED: James Crumbley Trial: Oxford High School teacher testifies shooter was 'aiming to kill' her
She told the court she texted her husband, "I love you. Active shooter," after she had been shot in her classroom.
Darnell was shot after locking eyes with the shooter. She described him wearing black clothes and only seeing his eyes. She also noticed the gun he was holding, and it didn't have an orange tip, which meant it wasn’t a BB gun. As he raised the gun, his shoulders were square, his stance was about as wide as his waist, she testified.
She didn't leave the room until the authorities had arrived and they asked her to open the door. An officer then took her to an ambulance. She said the first time she cried was when they were looking at her wound.
Former deputy talks police response, shooter's arrest
Edward Wagrowski currently works with the US Secret Service, but at the time of the Oxford High School mass shooting in 2021, he was with the computer crimes unit at the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office. He also testified at Jennifer Crumbley’s trial.
Wagrowski, who said he has a teen daughter, got visibly emotional as he recounted arriving at the family reunification area at the nearby Meijers, calling the scene chaos.
RELATED: James Crumbley Trial: Former detective said after Oxford shooting students 'looked like zombies'
"You just saw these kids just coming down from where the school was, like, it's hard to describe. They looked like zombies. Like they had no facial expression."
Following the shooting, Gragowski was tasked with reviewing all the surveillance footage from the school. Asked how many hours of shooting video he had to watch, Gragowski said, "too many," with tears in his eyes.
Gragowski also reviewed a trove of text messages and other communications between the shooter and his parents. Among the messages he found appeared to be one between James and his son about guns, but the message was deleted from one or both phones.
What’s next
Judge Cheryl Matthews, who also presided over Jennifer Crumbley’s trial, said court will resume at 9 a.m. Friday. She said she expects the trial to last about two weeks.
Jennifer Crumbley returns to court for sentencing April 9. Her minimum prison term could be as high as 10 years.
Judge Cheryl Matthews presides at the trial of James Crumbley, father of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, on the first day of his trial. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Both parents have been jailed since their arrest a few days after the shooting.