Crumbley's Want To Call Their Son As A Witness During Their Trial

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — Jennifer and James Crumbley plan on calling their son as a witness to testify in their criminal trial, their lawyers announced during a Monday court hearing.

"We need him as a witness in this trial," Jennifer Crumbley's lawyer Shannon Smith said. "There are just certain questions we would just not be able to ask. We do understand that."

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald immediately questioned how the defense would use the couple's son and asked the court if "they want to call their son to somehow diminish — highlight — his role instead of his parents."

But Smith fired back, arguing their son's testimony would not be "about the defendants wanting to throw their son under the bus, or making him look bad."

"When the prosecution criticizes the defense of being selfish — we are going to be selfish all day." Smith said. "Selfishly, we have to protect their rights."

Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews told the court she was wondering whether the defense would call the couple's son to testify, noting "that they have a right to call him."

Although Matthews said she understands where the defense is coming from, she reiterated the couple's son could not invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in front of the jury.

Smith concurred, and said the couple's son would only answer questions involving "extraneous matters that are important in the case."

The couple's son, Ethan Crumbley, 16, was charged with 24 counts, including four counts of premeditated murder and terrorism after authorities said he opened fire inside Oxford High School on Nov. 30, killing four students and wounding seven other people.

Ethan pleaded insanity through his lawyers. His trial date was rescheduled for Jan. 17, 2023, after it was initially expected to take place in September this year.

The tense moment in the courtroom came during a Monday morning hearing where Matthews denied a motion from defense lawyers seeking to shift the trial out of Oakland County.

The couple's lawyers argued Jennifer and James Crumbley wouldn't receive a fair trial in Oakland County because of media coverage and public statements from prosecutors calling them bad parents.

But Matthews rejected that motion, arguing Oakland County's population is large and diverse enough to guard against any pretrial publicity.

Matthews did, however, issue a gag order to keep both sides from discussing the case on the internet or with the public.

Prosecutors immediately fired back, arguing it's imperative for them to discuss the case with the media to prevent any misinformation. One prosecutor highlighted a specific statement from Facebook, reading 'Exclusive: Ethan Crumbley has been deemed incompetent to stand trial for the murder of four students.'

Prosecutors said the statement was taken down and argued they are the only one's that can factually correct a statement like that. But without the media, they "can’t do a phone tree with a thousand victims."

But Matthews argued, "it's not a duty of the prosecutor to police the Internet. It's your job to give the defendants a fair trial."

Jennifer and James Crumbley were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the deadly Oxford school shooting. The couple pleaded not guilty and maintain their innocent in not knowing their son was planning the deadly attack authorities said Ethan carried out on Nov. 30.

The couple remains in the Oakland County Jail, each with a $500,000 bond. Their trial is expected to start on Oct. 24, 2022.