Jennifer Crumbley's affair revealed • Ex-jail officer describes juvie conditions • Unclaimed Property Day
THURSDAY NEWS HIT - Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, was having an affair at the time, and that affair is now fair game in court.
Jennifer and her husband James are both facing involuntary manslaughter charges after their son killed four classmates in 2021.
As part of Jennifer's trial, which started first, numerous witnesses have been called to the stand. On Wednesday, the man she had an affair with was one of those witnesses.
Brian Meloche and Jennifer exchanged text messages the week of the shooting and most of his testimony evolved around that.
However, when the defense had a chance to cross-examine Meloche, attorney Shannon Smith questioned Meloche's story, which she intimated had changed over three different interviews with police.
"They have started to talk to you about things like your job and your benefits," Smith said. "And they have said things to you like if you're helping Jennifer Crumbly, you could lose your job as a firefighter, correct?"
Meloche confirmed it and Smith continued and asked if he believed he would get in trouble for helping Jennifer.
Though the affair was previously barred from being used in court, Smith opened the door for allowing it to be evidence.
"I have opened the door and I want that door opened and I want to fully examine this with this witness," Smith said. "At this point, her life is more important than her dignity in terms of…she had an affair. Lots of people have affairs. I mean, that's the bottom line. At the end of the day, it doesn't mean, you know, your kid's a school shooter."
Watch the trial live at the link below.
Featured
Jennifer Crumbley's trial resumes after affair disclosed in court
An affair Jennifer Crumbley was having is now fair game during her trial after previously not being allowed as evidence.
Arrest of Crumbley parents shown in court
Other evidence presented in court Wednesday included testimony from the witness who spotted the Crumbley's vehicle in Detroit and body camera footage of police arresting Jennifer and her husband James.
Former Oakland County Sheriff's Office Det/Sgt. David Hendrick said he first checked local hotels for the Crumbley family's vehicles and located one of them at an Auburn Hills hotel on Dec. 3. However, the couple weren't there.
Later that night, an employee at a Detroit coffee supply company would lead investigators to the Crumbleys, who had taken refuge in a Detroit building.
Luke Kirtley, of Coffee House, said he had heard about the school shooting and the search for the parents. He testified that when he got to his business, he used his key fob to enter a parking lot at the business. At the time, he noticed a car parked in the lot but did not give much attention to it.
When he left the company, he got a better view of the vehicle and checked the license plate.
"I assumed after connecting the plate, that it was somebody related to the incident," he said. "That's a feeling you've never felt before."
That's when he called 911 and police showed up. Police body camera footage shown in court captures the arrests of James and Jennifer. The couple were found in an art studio owned by an acquaintance. In the video, officers handcuff the Crumbleys and begin searching the room, which had a mattress in it.
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Jennifer Crumbley trial: Witnesses detail moment Oxford shooter's parents found in Detroit building
A witness who helped locate James and Jennifer Crumbley after the Oxford High School shooting, along with authorities who arrested them in Detroit, testified during Jennifer's trial Wednesday.
State urges residents to check for unclaimed property
Today is Michigan Unclaimed Property Day, a day when the state encourages people to see if they have unclaimed money.
The state is holding onto more than $2 billion in unclaimed property, including cash, bonds, and more. This money and property is from dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, valuables left in safe deposit boxes, and stock certificates.
After assets are abandoned for a certain period of time, money is transferred to the Michigan Department of Treasury, where it can be claimed.
Amounts can range from $50 to thousands of dollars.
Learn how to check if you have unclaimed property:
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How to see if you are owed money on Michigan Unclaimed Property Day
More than $2 million in unclaimed property, including cash, bonds, and more, is waiting to be claimed in Michigan.
Ex-corrections officer describes juvenile jail conditions after alleged rape
An alleged rape of a 12-year-old child inside the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility has led to a former corrections officer sharing details about jail conditions.
Byron Williams spent a year on the job before leaving last February.
"I feel sorry for the parents and I feel sorry for the trauma that the kids are enduring because that’s going to stay with them for life," Williams said. "The biggest problem that I endured while I was there is they weren’t able to keep the kids inside of the cells… In my opinion, that's why kids are being assaulted, staff is being assaulted, the kids are being allegedly raped."
The 12-year-old boy said he was punched, beaten, and raped by other juveniles in the facility over several hours and during multiple incidents last year, according to the report issued by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Other challenges the facility faced at the time included inadequate staff to manage the youths and subpar wages, Williams added.
"Now they are paying enough money, but you can’t pay people enough to go down there and catch a criminal case," he said.
Featured
Ex-corrections officer describes juvie center conditions amid alleged rape of 12-year-old
A former corrections officers is sharing insights into his time at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility – where a 12-year-old boy was allegedly raped and assaulted in March 2023.
Biden making campaign stop in Michigan
President Joe Biden is visiting Michigan as he seeks reelection this year.
His exact agenda is unknown, though the president is expected to meet with UAW members during the Thursday visit.
This meeting with the auto union comes after UAW President Shawn Fain endorsed Biden last week. That led to sharp backlash from former president Donald Trump.
On his social platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote that UAW President Shawn Fain is "selling the Automobile Industry right into the big, powerful, hands of China," warning that electric vehicles would require fewer workers and destroy the U.S. auto industry.
"Shawn Fain is a Weapon of Mass Destruction on Auto Workers and the Automobile Manufacturing Industry in the United States!" Trump continued. "Is he under contract to China, because they will be getting almost all of our ‘Car making’ Business within a very short period of time. All Autoworkers should VOTE FOR TRUMP. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Fain retorted that Biden fights for the working class while Trump is worried about himself and billionaires.
Live on FOX 2
Daily Forecast
Aside from some drizzle later today, it's a quiet day.
What else we're watching
- A Macomb County man is facing charges after he allegedly stabbed and killed his brother. Nathan Land is charged with homicide - manslaughter for the weekend stabbing.
- A Warren man will stand trial for the stabbing death of his wife, who was found dead in the backseat of his vehicle last year. Ricardo Orozco was bound over this week.
- People scouring dumpsters of dispensaries are finding marijuana products, and the state wants it to stop. The Cannabis Regulatory Agency sent dispensaries a disporal reminder this week.
- Matthew Reynolds, of Lenox Township, is accused of running from a fatal crash that killed a woman in Chesterfield last week. He was caught and is facing charges.
- It's almost the weekend! Find things to do here.
Chinese hackers want to 'wreak havoc' on US infrastructure, FBI director warns
Chinese government hackers are busily targeting water treatment plants, the electrical grid, transportation systems and other critical infrastructure inside the United States, FBI Director Chris Wray will tell House lawmakers on Wednesday in a fresh warning from Washington about Beijing's global ambitions.
Wray will say that there's been "far too little public focus" on a cyber threat that affects "every American," according to a copy of prepared remarks that he is to give before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
"China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike," Wray will say.