Jennifer Crumbley's attorney claims Oakland County prosecutors paid $100K for "smear campaign"
(CBS DETROIT) - The attorney for Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, alleges that the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office conducted a smear campaign against her, including spending at least $100,000 to retain two "high-priced" public relations firms.
According to court documents filed on Monday, attorney Micheal Deszi claims that prosecutors hired two firms, Identity and Moment Strategies LLC, to push a narrative after the shooting.
Crumbley and her husband, James Crumbley, were convicted last year of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting that killed Oxford High School students Madisyn Baldwin, Justin Shilling, Tate Myre and Hana St. Juliana. Six other students and a teacher were injured in the shooting.
In the month following her conviction, Jennfier Crumbley filed a motion, requesting for a new trial or the charges to be dropped. She also requested to be released from prison during the appeal process.
Deszi, who was appointed as Jennifer Crumbley's appellate attorney, also alleges that despite gag orders, prosecutors allowed a Washington Post reporter to have behind-the-scenes access and had an agreement with ABC Studios to produce a documentary that would air on ABC and Hulu.
The documentary "Sins of the Parents: The Crumbley Trials" aired in April 2024, more than a week after the Crumbleys were sentenced.
"The prosecution picked public relations firms who would promote the prosecution's narrative and allow their handpicked journalists and media organizations into their inner workings," Deszi said in the court document. "The prosecution invested itself heavily into creating public support for these charges which have no basis in the law."
The allegations come after Dezi accused prosecutors of conducting secret deals with star witnesses in the case. However, Oakland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams denounced Deszi's claims, saying:
"The Oxford High School shooting drew immediate national and international attention. False rumors began spreading quickly. Schools across Michigan and across the country were closed because of false threats. The Oakland County Executive and the Oakland County Board of Commissioners immediately provided the resources needed to get reliable information to the public and the media. We owed that to the victims and the public.
"The two stories defense counsel references came out after the jury verdicts, not before, and the suggestion that they had any impact on the jury is ridiculous.
"Jennifer Crumbley was convicted for what she did and didn't do, and the defense cannot change those facts. The judge explained the law in Michigan regarding gross negligence to the jury, and the jury unanimously convicted her of involuntary manslaughter. She was convicted on the facts, not a media narrative."
The Crumbleys made history as the first parents to be convicted for a mass shooting committed by their children.
Their son, Ethan Crumbley, was sentenced to life in prison for multiple charges, including murder and terrorism. His appellate attorney filed a motion seeking to withdraw his guilty plea and grant resentencing. However, Judge Kwame Rowe denied that request.