Chilling details have emerged after a mum accused of being responsible for her son gunning down four students at a school admitted she "wished he shot us instead."
Jennifer Crumbley, 45, is charged with involuntary manslaughter following the November 30, 2021, attack at Oxford High School by her son Ethan Crumbley.
She and her husband James are the first parents to have faced involuntary manslaughter charges as prosecutors allege gross negligence. Prosecutors say the parents were grossly negligent and that their son’s actions were foreseeable.
His mother is now on trial with his father facing identical charges expected to be heard in March. Both have pleaded not guilty. Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty in October 2022, moving from an instant trial straight to sentencing last December, where he was given life without parole.
READ MORE: Mom of school shooter on trial tells court she wishes he had killed her instead
Gunman who killed woman on Christmas Eve laid in wait for an hour before attack
The 43-year-old faces trial after her son Ethan killed four students during a school shooting (AFP via Getty Images)However, some chilling details have emerged from the trial from the prosecutors who intend to show the parents were negligent towards their son.
Concerns over drawing a gun on maths homework
The mum was aware of Ethan Crumbley’s deteriorating mental health and social isolation and knew that a gun drawn on a math assignment resembled the one that he had used with her at a shooting range, according to assistant prosecutor Marc Keast.
“This was a purchase celebrated by Jennifer on Instagram: ‘Mom and son day testing out his new X-mas present,’” Keast said, quoting a social media post.
The married couple were seen buying a gun for their son days before the shooting (Oakland County Sheriff's Office/)“I was pretty concerned,” she said of the picture her son’s counselor emailed her in requesting the meeting. The picture included a gun, a bullet and a bleeding, bullet-ridden body near the words “blood everywhere” and “the thoughts won’t stop.” The meeting was “nonchalant,” with counselor Shawn Hopkins telling them he didn’t think their son was a risk, she testified.
'Inconvenience' meeting with worried teacher
On the day of the attack, Ethan drew images of a gun and a bullet on a math assignment, and the words, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.” A teacher’s discovery led the school to call in his parents for a meeting. The teen had explained that the drawing was an idea for a video game.
Shawn Hopkins, who was a counselor to 400 students at Oxford, said Jennifer Crumbley acted “like it was a little bit of an inconvenience to be there.” He told jurors that he wanted Ethan to get help as soon as possible and not be left alone.
Prosecutors said the Crumbleys bought the handgun for their son as a Christmas present“I was a little caught off guard and a little confused,” Hopkins said when asked about the Crumbleys’ decision to keep their son in school. “I wasn’t really expecting that type of response. ... I was a little surprised at their willingness to come but then not completely follow through.”
He said the meeting, which lasted roughly 12 minutes, ended “fairly abruptly.” Hopkins handed Ethan a pass to return to class and told him, “I cared about him.”
'Demon' messages sent to mum over 'haunted house'
The school shooter sent messages to his mum which showed his worsening mental health as he referred to 'demons' and feared their house was haunted.
Oxford School staffers testified that days before the shooting, they alerted Crumbley that her that her son was web searching ammunition during class; Crumbley never called back, and instead chided her son in a text message saying he had to learn to not get caught. She later said this was an inside joke about her time at school.
Young teacher shot by student, 6, was 'trying to confiscate the boy's gun'
Ethan Crumbley sent the messages to his mum (Oakland County Sheriff's Office/)“The two people in the world that had all of the information, all the background to put this drawing into context, were James and Jennifer Crumbley,” Keast said. “They didn’t say anything.”
Buying son gun four days before shooting
James Crumbley was seen in a local gun shop just four days before the shooting, buying a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol for his son as an early Christmas gift. The court was shown footage of Jennifer Crumbley trying out the same gun with her son at a shooting range.
The 43-year-old Michigan mum claims she wasn't aware of some of her son's worrying behaviours (AFP via Getty Images)Jennifer said she took her son to a shooting range because he asked her to — something he usually asked his father. She testified that her husband kept the gun stored with a cable lock in a case hidden somewhere in her bedroom. Ammunition was hidden elsewhere — “because that’s what you do,” Crumbley said — and said a key to the lock was hidden in the kitchen.
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