PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - For the third time in a week, Shannon Smith, the defense attorney for Jennifer Crumbley, tried to bring in evidence that had been ruled to be inadmissible in her trial – which prompted a massive delay as the prosecution works to wrap up their case.
Crumbley was in court on Thursday for the sixth full day of witness testimony as she's charged with involuntary manslaughter related to the Oxford High School shooting, committed by her son.
Oakland County Sheriff Lt. Timothy Willis was called to the stand by the prosecution on Thursday and was discussing evidence found in the hallways and bathroom of the school. Included in the bathroom where the shooter pulled the 9 mm was a journal. As Willis was testifying, he explained that 'Every single' page of the shooter's notebook had references to school shootings.
As Smith went to cross-examine Willis, she asked Willis if he was aware if the parents ever saw the shooter's journal or its contents. He testified he did not have evidence that the parents saw the journal.
The prosecution, sensing where Smith was going with her questioning, interjected to discuss the evidence that Smith was about to discuss.
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Jennifer Crumbley trial: Investigator breaks down on stand
Oakland County Sheriff's Office Detective Lt. Timothy Willis gave emotional testimony about the day of the Oxford High shooting, including the shooter's disturbing journal entries and a fear of explosives inside the school.
The judge called a short break for the jury, so the prosecution could discuss a prior ruling that excluded the bulk of the shooter's journal from evidence. The discussion was getting closer to pages of the journal that were excluded from being allowed into evidence.
This was the third time that Smith had introduced previously excluded evidence – but just the first that Matthews had blocked it. The first two issues were about alcohol use and Jennifer's affair she had before the shooting.
"But just for the record, I mean, just for the record, as I know the court's aware, we went through the Facebook messages detailing alcohol use. We talked yesterday, in depth about the extramarital affairs that were previously excluded and now the Journal. This is the third time in the trial. We just need the ground rules. The court gave us the ground rules a long time ago. We prepared a case in accordance with that. So if the door is open, the door is open," Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast said before the recess.
After about 10 minutes, the defense and prosecution returned with Judge Cheryl Matthews to discuss the matter.
At issue was whether or not part of the journal could be admitted. However, Matthews ruled that the journal would be very damaging to Crumbley's defense.
"I am trying to very much protect any potential public record and I do not want to delve into this journal. I think that would do nothing more than hurt Mrs. Crumbley, severely. It's highly prejudicial. So that's what the ruling about the journal," Matthews ruled.
The other two issues were both allowed and, according to FOX 2's Charlie Langton, it may not be the best way to argue the case.
"Generally speaking, a defense attorney representing a client does not want bad stuff exposed in court," Langton said.
He said she'd ‘opened the door’ to the information that she had previously sought to exclude – and was granted. The problem is that the prosecution has not had time to prepare for the evidence as it had previously been excluded. But because she's opened the door, Langton said this gives the prosecution a chance to ‘rehab’ their witness.
The prosecution is expected to rest as soon as this week and the defense will start its argument. During opening arguments, Smith had said she would put Jennifer on the stand. Langton questions if this would happen, based on the amount of content that has already been exposed in court – including texts.
"It's dangerous to put the client on the stand," Langton said.
What is Jennifer Crumbley charged with?
Jennifer Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count for each student killed by her son at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021.
Her husband, James Crumbley, is also facing the same charges and is expected to go to trial after Jennifer's trial is complete.
What did Jennifer Crumbley do?
The prosecution argues that Jennifer and James ignored their son's mental health and even bought him a gun before the Oxford High School shooting.
Jennifer's attorney maintains that her client knew nothing about guns and was not involved in purchasing the weapon. Receipts provided in court show that James bought the gun, and the shooter admitted during his plea hearing that he gave James money to buy the firearm. Video from a gun range showed Jennifer shooting a gun with her son, but her lawyer claims she didn't know what she was doing.
Journal entries detailing the shooter's mental state have been presented in court, but Jennifer's defense argues that there is no evidence Jennifer knew about this writing.
Witnesses called by the prosecution during the trial have also 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.
Jennifer Crumbley's trial so far
Read recaps of each day of testimony below:
Day 1: Oxford teacher, assistant principal testify
Day 2: Messages between shooter, parents shown
Day 3: Parents' first police interview shown
Day 4: Ex-Oxford High School dean questioned, Crumbley's colleagues testify
Day 5: Extramarital affair revealed, arrest video shown