Trial of Jennifer Crumbley, mother of Oxford High School shooter, continues with third day of testimony
(CBS DETROIT) - The trial of Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, continued Monday with the third day of testimony.
Shannon Smith, Jennifer Crumbley's attorney, began Monday by apologizing for statements she had made during the trial on Friday.
"Your honor, on Friday, I think it was very clear beyond reasonable doubt that I had difficulty and cannot use technology," Smith said. "In my frustration, I made a comment that was offensive to victims, victims' families, and I did it absolutely by accident as I was struggling with my computer."
"I am apologizing for that comment," Smith continued. "I want to apologize to the jurors, to the audience, to all involved, and specifically to the victims and the families of the victims. I truly did not mean to say the comment I made."
Smith apologized for comments she made while discussing the Facebook message list between Jennifer and James Crumbley in 2021.
"My first thought is that I knew who the shooter was..."
Kira Pennock, who owns and runs a horse farm where the Crumbley family boarded their horses, was the first to testify Monday.
The morning of the shooting, Pennock texted Jennifer Crumbley and told her that her horses needed supplements, and the mother responded by telling Pennock she had just gone to her son's school to meet with his counselor.
Jennifer Crumbley then told Pennock she would have her lesson that day and sent a photo of the violent drawings her son had made on a homework assignment on Nov. 30.
When Pennock learned about the shooting, her first thought was that Jennifer Crumbley's son was responsible.
Oxford shooter's former counselor testifies
Shawn Hopkins, a counselor at Oxford High School, testified second on Monday.
Hopkins said Monday he was the shooter's counselor and shared information about receiving emails from teachers who were concerned by his behavior.
According to emails, an Oxford Spanish teacher contacted Hopkins on Nov. 10, 2021, saying that the shooter was having a rough time and might need to speak with him.
Hopkins met with the shooter in the hallway before class the next day and let the shooter know he was there for him if he needed someone to talk to.
Hopkins said he didn't contact the Crumbleys because the information he had was that the student was sad, which was a pretty common thing to him.
On Nov. 29, 2021, Hopkins received an email from a teacher who said she caught the shooter looking at bullets and also noticed that work he had done earlier in the year also seemed to be violent.
First police interview of Jennifer and James Crumbley shown
During the third day of testimony, detective sergeant Joe Brian of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office testified. Brian has worked in the department's special investigations unit since 2011 and before that ran the department's computer crimes unit.
Brian was assigned to assist in the investigation of the Oxford High School shooting.
Prosecutors showed a video of Brian and his partner interviewing James and Jennifer Crumbley right after their son had been taken into custody for the shooting.
Deep dive into Crumbley's digital footprint
During Friday's second testimony, the jury heard a deep dive into the family's digital footprint as the prosecution built their case on why they believe Jennifer Crumbley ignored signs that could have prevented the mass shooting.
Only one person testified on Friday. Ed Wagrowski, a former detective with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and a computer crimes expert, shared the information he pulled from the seven phones investigators collected from the Crumbley family.
The prosecution honed in on text messages sent in March 2021, including messages the shooter sent his mother about being home alone and how he was scared because he had been seeing demons and hearing strange sounds.
In addition to this, the prosecution also saw how the Crumbley parents reacted after the shooting, which included several deleted text messages while they had been on the run.
Jennifer and James Crumbley are charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter after their son killed four students, Justin Shilling, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, and Hana St. Juliana, and injured several other people in the November 2021 shooting.
Prosecutors accuse the parents of buying the gun for their son that was used the day of the shooting and not getting him the necessary help.
The prosecution expects to call 20-25 people to testify in Jennifer Crumbley's trial. James Crumbley's trial will begin in March.
The shooter was sentenced to life in prison without parole in December 2023.
Testimony resumes at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
