Crumbleys Want Prosecutors Sanctioned For Calling Them Bad Parents: Report

OXFORD, MI — Defense lawyers for James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of Oxford High School shooting defendant Ethan Crumbly, want a judge to sanction the prosecution because they say prosecutors keep insulting the couple and portraying them as bad parents, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.

In an emergency motion filed Tuesday morning, defense lawyers said prosecutors are tainting the jury pool and destabilizing the couple's right to a fair trial by continuing to make "inappropriate comments" in the media, the report said.

"The prosecution continuously putting absolutely false information in the public purview, and doubling down on the misinformation when called out, is what will cause the Crumbleys to be deprived of a fair trial," defense lawyers Shannon Smith and Mariel Lehman argued in court documents.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald upset the couple last week when her office filed a motion arguing to keep the couple's trial in Oakland County and accused them of being selfish people "concerned only about themselves."

Moreover, McDonald said the public and the victims of the deadly Nov. 30 school shooting have a right to know the truth and the events leading up to the deadly attack for which authorities have charged the couple's son.

Each parent is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting, which left four students dead and seven other people wounded. The couple have pleaded not guilty and said they did not know their son was planning the deadly attack. They are each being held on a $500,000 bond in the Oakland County Jail.

McDonald's statements were in response to an earlier motion filed by defense lawyers seeking to block certain evidence from the couple's upcoming trial and to stop the prosecution from making public statements about the case.

"The defense has never lied to the court, the media, or otherwise regarding the facts and circumstances of this case," the defense said. "The prosecution, however, has lied in claiming facts exist that do not exist."

An Oakland County judge is set to rule on these matters, including whether the trial should be moved out of Oakland County, on June 27.