Oakland County Detective Sgt. Joe Brian testifies interviewing James and Jennifer Crumbley
PONTIAC, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Detective Sgt. Joe Brian with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office testified on Friday on the second day of the trial of James Crumbley, the father of the Oxford High School shooter.
Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer, were charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. The parents are accused of not getting their teen son the necessary help, resulting in the shooting on Nov. 30, 2021, that killed four students and injured six others and a teacher.
Brian was the third witness called to testify on Friday. Other witnesses included Robert Koteles Jr., the Oakland County Sheriff's Office latent print and crime scene supervisor, and Cammy Back, an office manager at a gun store where Crumbley purchased the gun that was used in the shooting.
Brian testified that he was called on the day of the deadly shooting to interview the shooter at the substation. He said he did speak with and learned the identities of his parents.
Brian said he called James Crumbley and requested that he come to the station for questioning.
James Crumbley told authorities he tried to contact his son after learning of shooting
The prosecution presented footage of the interview with the Crumbleys on Friday. In the video, Brian and now-retired Rob Miller talked to the parents about the shooting.
Prior to the shooting, the parents were called to the school prior to the shooting after school staff found drawings that concerned them. However, the Crumbleys did not remove their son from the school.
Jennifer Crumbley read text messages to Brian that she sent to her son at 12:21 p.m. that day, asking him if he was OK after she was sent a picture of a drawing. He replied that he was OK and was coming back from lunch, also apologized to his mother and said that he loved her.
In the video, the Crumbleys said they wished they had taken their son home.
The footage showed James Crumbley telling Brian and Miller said that he saw police cars and tried to get to the school but couldn't. He then went to the parking lot of a nearby Meijer and attempted to contact his son.
Crumbley said when he heard there was an active shooter, he raced home to see his gun was missing and called the police.
On Thursday, prosecutors played the 911 call from Crumbley made at 1:34 p.m. Nov. 30, 2021, after he learned of the shooting at the high school. The call was placed before the shooter's identification was made public.
Brian testified that Crumbley told him the gun was stored empty, and the magazines were stored empty. The gun and the bullets were put away in separate places.
Brian testified that Crumbley became emotional after he learned that multiple people were shot. At one point in the video, Jennifer Crumbley asked whether they needed to get a lawyer, but James Crumbley said he was willing to talk to Brian and Miller.
When asked if they had issues with their son, the Crumbleys denied having any issues with him, describing him as a "perfect kid." James Crumbley told Brian and Miller that his son's friend was sent away, their family dog had died a few months prior, and Crumbley's mother passed in April 2021.
Eventually, the Crumbleys requested a lawyer.