James Crumbley Will Not Testify In Oxford Shooting Trial

PONTIAC, MI — James Crumbley told an Oakland County judge Wednesday morning that he will not testify in his trial on manslaughter charges.

"It is my decision to remain silent," James Crumbley told Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews.

Closing arguments are scheduled to begin inside the courtroom Wednesday afternoon, which is the seventh day of the trial.

Prosecutors called roughly a dozen people to the stand, including members of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and Oxford school officials. The defense called just one witness to the stand, James Crumbley's sister, who said she didn’t recall seeing or hearing anything concerning with the shooter in the months leading up to the deadly shooting.

James Crumbley, 47, was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly Oxford school shooting. He faces up to 15 years in prison on each charge.

James' wife, Jennifer Crumbley, did testify in her defense on the same manslaughter charges and said that her son never asked her for mental health treatment and nothing suggested he needed help, despite text messages prosecutors claim were alarming. She was later convicted on the charges. Her sentencing is scheduled for April 9 inside an Oakland County courtroom.

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Prosecutors are trying to prove James committed gross negligence leading up to the shooting. They claim the James ignored disturbing warning signs from their son leading up to the deadly shooting, and instead of getting him help, bought him a gun.

Jurors will only need to believe one of two theories to declare Crumbley guilty: That James failed to perform a legal duty in parenting, or that he knew his son was a danger to others and failed to take the ordinary care steps to avoid injuring others.

Defense lawyers maintain he had no idea what his son was planning. Moreover, defense lawyers argued James cannot be held accountable because he was not "directly involved" in the Oxford school shooting, and are not "responsible for the deaths of others."

Ethan Crumbley, who is now 17, was sentenced to life without parole last December after he admitted to the shooting.

The four students killed in the shooting were 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 17-year-old Justin Shilling.