Jury is seated for James Crumbley's trial; opening arguments set for Thursday
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - A jury is seated in James Crumbley's trial after two days of selection and extensive questions from the lawyers that will be battling it out in court.
An IT worker, a residential trash worker with roots in the Upper Peninsula, an elementary teacher, one retired registered nurse and one nurse practitioner make up some of the people who will decide Crumbley's fate when evidence is revealed in court.
Six men and nine women make up the bench. Twelve jurors will deliberate while three others will be alternates.
Judge Cheryl Matthews set opening arguments for 8:30 a.m. Thursday. FOX 2 will stream the trial live.
Jury selection came with themes of guns, parental responsibility, mental health, and what "access" means to those picked for the bench.
It also came with some fireworks between Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and defense attorney Mariell Lehman.
McDonald took issue with some of Lehman's questions for the jury as too hypothetical, at one point accusing her of being deceptive.
Lehman fired back, telling Judge Cheryl Matthews "she knows she shouldn't be making statements like that."
While some of the questions were similar to the ones posed to the jury that was ultimately seated in the trial of James' wife, Jennifer, the focus on mental health and the jurors' connection to those that struggle with issues played a bigger role during James' jury selection.
Lehman's questions for the jury also looked for how each felt about whether a parent would be responsible for their child's actions, whether they were aware of what their child was up to or not.
How much James Crumbley could have foreseen his son carrying out a mass shooting and whether the shooter had access to the gun used will be key parts of the upcoming trial.
The judge predicted the trial would take around two weeks.
Who are the jurors?
Nine women and six men make up the 15 people selected for the jury. Only 12 will deliberate with three selected at random to be alternates.
At least 10 of the jurors have kids and several own firearms. Even more grew up with firearms or have experience in a home that had guns.
The jurors' ages range from 25 to 64 years old.
- Man - Unmarried and with no kids who works in IT and has seen brief headlines about the Oxford shooting case. He had few opinions about guns
- Man - Art director at an advertising agency who is single, no kids, and likes to hunt. He owns a rifle and a shotgun and stores them in a closet
- Man - Nurse practitioner who is married with two kids
- Woman - A foster parent with three kids.
- Woman - Part-time dental office worker with two kids who is married.
- Woman - Stay-at-home mom with two kids and a third on the way. Her husband works as a social worker
- Woman - Former personal trainer and widow who used to own her own gym.
- Man - Machinist with two kids who is married
- Man - Data analyst whose wife works in advertising and has two sons. Likes to hunt
- Woman - Teacher who used to teach in elementary grade students and now teaches music. Neither her nor her husband grew up with guns
- Woman - Married with two kids and owns firearms. They raised a child who struggled with mental illness
- Man - Residential trash worker who grew up around guns in Upper Peninsula. He told the court he didn’t want to be "buckless yooper" when he went hunting as a kid. He doesn't follow the case, but his wife did
- Woman - Retired registered nurse who never had any kids but helped parent her nephew due to her sister’s mental illness
- Woman - Full-time telecom expense management company employee who grew up in a family of hunters
- Woman - Human Resources employee at a community health organization. She has dealt with mental health struggles in her family
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.