Defense attorney warns of precedent set by Crumbley conviction: ‘Criminalizing parenting decisions’
Criminal defense attorney Lexie Rigden joins 'Fox & Friends' to weigh in after a jury found Jennifer Crumbley guilty of involuntary manslaughter after her son, Ethan Crumbley, shot and killed four students at Oxford High School in 2021.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office in Michigan is investigating threats from James Crumbley, father of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, to prosecutors following his trial.
Two juries found James Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter each for their roles in then-15-year-old Ethan Crumbley's decision to shoot up Oxford High School in November 2021, killing four students and injuring seven others.
James Crumbley apparently made threats to Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald, who initially brought the charges against the Crumbleys, in jail calls, according to her office.
"Those threats are currently actively being investigated by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, and will be included in a sentencing memorandum that our office will file," McDonald's office said in a Wednesday press release. "To be clear, those threats were directly addressed to the Prosecutor by name, telling her what was going to happen to her when he is released."
JAMES CRUMBLEY TRIAL: MICHIGAN JURY REACHES GUILTY VERDICT FOR SCHOOL SHOOTER'S FATHER
James Crumbley was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly Nov. 30, 2021, Oxford High School shooting in Michigan. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press )
Her office added that the "threats are serious, and they also reflect a lack of remorse and a continued refusal to take accountability for his part in the deaths of" the four students who were murdered on Nov. 30, 2021, including Tate Myre, 16; Justin Shilling, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Madisyn Baldwin, 17.
Crumbley's lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
The prosecutor's office also said it has received multiple requests for copies of two confidential proffer agreements, or written government contracts, given to Oxford High School's former dean of students Nicholas Ejak and counselor Shawn Hopkins.
MICHIGAN SCHOOL SHOOTER ETHAN CRUMBLEY'S FATHER CALLS HIM ‘PERFECT KID’ IN INTERVIEW WITH POLICE
Ethan Crumbley, at age 15, walked into Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021, went to morning classes, met with the school counselor with his parents, and was sent back to class before he took a gun out of his backpack and killed 16-year-old Tate Myre, 16-year-old Justin Shilling, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin. (FOX 2 Detroit)
The agreements "made crystal clear to Hopkins, Ejak, and their attorneys Mr. Fishman and Mr. Ribitwer, that there was never an implicit or explicit promise of immunity, leniency, or favoritism of any kind," the prosecutor's office said in its press release.
McDonald's office will release the proffer agreements in an effort to be transparent with the public.
JENNIFER CRUMBLEY TRIAL: MICHIGAN JURY FINDS SCHOOL SHOOTER'S MOM GUILTY OF INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER
Oakland County, Michigan, Prosecutor Karen McDonald begins closing arguments in the case against James Crumbley in the Oakland County Courtroom of Cheryl Matthews in Pontiac, Michigan, on March 13. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press )
"No witnesses were ever given immunity," Chief Prosecutor David Williams previously said. "Any statements to the contrary are false. Two school employees agreed to sit down with the prosecution and truthfully provide all the information they had. They were represented by counsel, who asked for a proffer agreement. A proffer agreement does not provide any immunity from prosecution."
Williams added that the "only purpose of the agreement is to allow the witness to have an initial meeting with the prosecution without fear that their statements in that meeting will be used to criminally charge them."
MICHIGAN SCHOOL SHOOTER'S MOTHER JENNIFER CRUMBLEY CALLED SON AN ‘OOPSIE BABY,' WITNESS SAYS
A Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan left four students dead and seven injured. (Seth Herald )
Both Ejak and Hopkins testified under oath during James and Jennifer Crumbley's respective trials.
The families of the four deceased Oxford High School shooting victims are now calling for school officials to be held accountable following guilty verdicts for James and Jennifer, as well as Ethan Crumbley's guilty plea and subsequent life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Ethan Crumbley's parents in Michigan school shooting case.
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"While we are grateful that James and Jennifer Crumbley were found guilty, we want to be very clear that this is just the beginning of our quest for justice and true accountability," the families, who together identified as a group called "The Families for Change," said in a Monday statement. "There is so much more that needs to be done to ensure other families in Michigan and across the country don’t experience the pain that we feel and we will not stop until real change is made."
James Crumbley is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9.
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