Jennifer Crumbley trial analysis: Crucial meetings with Oxford parents in spotlight on day 3
FOX 2 (WJBK) - On Day three of the Jennifer Crumbley trial, video of the shooter's parents was shown reacting to police questioning and interacting with their son after the Oxford High School shooting.,
The prosecutor is working to show that Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford shooter, who killed four students and wounded seven other people on Nov. 30, 2021, was grossly negligent.
In testimony today, with one of the counselors from Oxford High School, it came out that the mom knew her son had hallucinations and was depressed. The defense argued there was no mental treatment, mental health treatment for him, and yet they bought a gun and took them to the range for target practice.
"All I know is I got a call from the counselor about that (points at drawings and notes by her son)," Jennifer Crumbley says to police in an interview room on tape. "And we went down there ...(unintelligible) ... and he didn't seem worried about it. And he (could stay) at school or he could go home and I really wish we (took) him home."
Oxford counselor Shawn Hopkins was questioned as the defense angled for a sense of culpability on the part of school staff superseding the parents' role. The prosecution however, took control with a battery of questions during their examination in an attempt to direct blame back on the parents.
Prosecutor: "Did Jennifer Crumbley tell you that her son texted her on March the 20th 2021 that he was homeless?"
Counselor: "No."
Prosecutor: "Did Jennifer ever tell you that in April of 2021 that she told a friend of hers that she thought Ethan was depressed?"
Counselor: "No."
Prosecutor: "Did Jennifer Crumbley tell you that she had referred to her son as weird?"
Counselor: "No."
Prosecutor: "Did Jennifer Crumbley ever tell you that she had never once set an appointment with any mental health professional?"
Counselor: "No."
Prosecutor: "Did Jennifer Crumbley ever tell you that his only hobby was involving firearms?"
Counselor: "No."
Jennifer Crumbley ever tell you that she posted on Instagram as early as June of 2021 that he had obtained his own handgun?
Counselor: No.
FOX 2 Legal Analyst Charlie Langton credited the prosecution for removing and redirecting Hopkins' questioning.
"Now you gotta give the prosecutor a couple of points today because that was a pretty good what the call redirect examination, which was hitting different points after points. And I'll tell you what the jury was paying attention to that," he said.
More coverage:
- Jennifer Crumbley trial: Parents’ first police interview shown on day 3
- Jennifer Crumbley’s trial on day 3 had witness testimony from school counselor, owner of horse farm
Also under the microscope was the Crumbleys' meeting with their son, the shooter captured on video at the police station from the questioning room. This was where the lack of emotion on the part of the shooter was on display..
In the meantime, prosecutors have to prove that she was grossly negligent and could have prevented the shooting. It is expected to be a two-to three-week trial.
FOX 2: "You hear in that video the mother say I wish we would have taken him home moments after meeting with her son. Does that just put the onus on the counselor here, implying that he needed to insist more for the shooter to be taken home talk about that?"
"Well, that's a good one. I mean, that would be a good defense," Langton said. "If you just say, Hey, listen, the counselor is a professional with multiple hours and degrees and all that kind of stuff. And yet the judge specifically asked the counselor 'Did you order the shooter to not go back to class?' And the counselor said no.
"The counselor did want the shooter to get therapy immediately. But the counselor was concerned about suicide at that point in time. And the counselor felt that if the shooter would be with people, he would not be able to have to commit suicide as opposed to going home, because the parents had to go back to work."
Langton believes that the bottom line Monday, is that a very crucial part of evidence were those meetings just before the shooting and just after the shooting.
