PONTIAC, Mich. — James and Jennifer Crumbley are back in court Friday morning as a judge considers allowing expert testimony in their involuntary manslaughter trial connected to Nov. 30 Oxford High School shooting that killed four students.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has argued in court filings that there was a “pathway to violence” provided to the shooter by his parents’ behavior, and she wants to hear from experts. The FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit has recognized that the “pathway to violence” is a “set of behaviors” leading up to an act of targeted violence, such as a mass shooting.
Defense attorneys for the Crumbleys, meanwhile, have described the area of study as “relatively novel," and argued “there is not consistency among research findings."
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews agreed with attorneys Smith and Mariell Lehman that one proposed prosecution expert witness won't be allowed to testify because she was not named until after the passage of a court deadline. On Friday Matthews refused to accept a prosecution affidavit from the rejected expert.
Matthews is considering other proposed witnesses during Friday's hearing, which is the first since Ethan Crumbley admitted Monday to be the Oxford High shooter and pleaded guilty to 24 criminal charges. He faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
About 40 people attended the hearing, under scrutiny by as many as 12 deputies at one point. Everyone sat quietly and respectfully as two prosecution witnesses were quizzed about their credentials and views on whether school shootings are preventable if officials or parents detected something is wrong with their children and intervene to get them they help they need.
Linda Watson and her family were among those sitting through proceedings.
"I think its important to be here," Watson said during a court break. "My son was one of those wounded. Fortunately he is recovering. Some days are better than others for him."
Watson heard the experts — Dr. Jillian Peterson, an associate professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Directo of the Forensic Psychology Program at Hamline University and Dr. Dewey Cornell, a University of Virginia forensic psychologist — testify that there are noticeable changes in a child's lifestyle that cannot be ignorred and, if acted on, can prevent such tragedies. Both Peterson and Cornell have written and spoken extensively on school shooting prevention.
"But I believe they (Crumbley parents) are one of the reasons for what happened," Watson said. "They should have done a better job (as parents). They should be convicted."
———
