Here's What Prosecutors Say Was In Ethan Crumbley's Journal

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — The teen accused of fatally shooting four students Nov. 30 at Oxford High school wrote in his journal that "the first victim has to be a pretty girl with a future, so she can suffer like me," prosecutors said Thursday.

Ethan Crumbley's journal passage was among several read in court by prosecutors during a preliminary exam for James and Jennifer Crumbley, who also are charged in connection with the shooting, which also wounded seven other people.

James and Jennifer Crumbley wiped tears away from their face as prosecutors read from their son's journal, where prosecutors say every page detailed his plan to carry out the deadly attack.

"I will have to find where my dad hid my 9 mm before I can shoot up the school," prosecutors said Ethan Crumbley wrote in his journal shortly before the attack.

Prosecutors said officials found the journal in Ethan's school backpack in the high school bathroom that he walked into before authorities said he started shooting other students.

Ethan detailed his mental breakdown in his journal while accusing his parents of not helping him, prosecutors said. They read the chilling journal descriptions out loud in the courtroom shortly after they revealed text messages Ethan exchanged with his friend claiming his parents would not help him with his mental health problems.

"My parents won’t listen to me, I have zero help with my mental problems, and it's causing me to shoot up the school," prosecutors said Ethan wrote in his journal. "My parents won’t get me help or a therapist."

As prosecutors said Ethan planned the deadly attack in his journal with admiration of Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer and a desire to be "remembered," he drew pictures of bullets from two different guns with their maximum "kill ranges."

Prosecutors also showed photos of the family's home when officers executed a search warrant the day of the shooting.

The photos prosecutors showed were taken prior to a police investigation and showed a messy home, especially Ethan's bedroom, which had two gun target silhouettes on the wall. There was also a coin with a Nazi logo on it and an open notebook on the bed with drawings of guns in it.

Prosecutors also played a short clip of Ethan and his mother at a firing range three days prior to the deadly shooting. The video showed Ethan repeatedly firing a semi-automatic handgun at the target. He also guided his mother in firing the weapon at the target, as it appeared she was struggling to fire the gun.

"First off I got access to my gun and ammo, second the shooting is tomorrow," prosecutors said Ethan wrote in his journal a day before the deadly attack. "I will do the biggest school shooting in Michigan’s history."

"I have fully lost it after years of fighting my dark side. I will kill everyone I f------ see," prosecutors said Ethan wrote.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said the victims of the Oxford School shooting would still be alive if James and Jennifer Crumbley had "exercised reasonable care for their son."

But as prosecutors used Ethan's journal to strengthen their argument accusing his parents of gross negligence leading up to the deadly shooting at Oxford High School, the defense used them as a way to highlight that neither parent knew of their son's plans.

Defense lawyer Mariell Lehman noted that Ethan's journal he never indicated that his parents gave him access to a gun, nor did he say where he got the gun from. She also used excerpts from Ethan's journal that read, "I’m sorry for you mom and dad, I have to do this. I love mom, I love you dad, sorry for not saying it back."

"But at the end of the day, the law doesn't care about what kind of parents they were," defense lawyer Shannon Smith. "It cares whether we knew their son was going to commit murder."

Rochester Hills Judge Julie Nicholson ordered the couple to stand trial at the conclusion of their preliminary exam to charges in connection with the deadly school shooting. Both James and Jennifer Crumbley were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.