Jennifer Crumbley Ignored Son's Paranoia, 'Demon' Texts: Witness

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — Prosecutors on Tuesday offered the first glimpse of evidence they plan to use against James and Jennifer Crumbley, accusing the couple of ignoring disturbing warning signs from their son leading up to the deadly shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30.

Several witnesses portrayed Jennifer as a woman who was more concerned about her own needs than those of her son, as prosecutors released text messages that showed Jennifer mostly ignored Ethan's fear of a demon in the house.

Detective Edward Wagrowski read aloud text messages Ethan sent to his mom on March 9, when he was home alone.

"There’s someone in the house I think," Ethan texted his mom. "Someone walked into the bathroom and flushed the toilet and left the light on. And I thought it was you but when I came out there was no one home. There's no one in the house tho. Dude my door just slammed. Maybe it’s just my paranoia. But when are you going to get home."

Jennifer Crumbley Described Her Son As 'Weird': Witness

Wagrowski testified that Jennifer didn't respond to those text messages on March 9, and instead said photos showed that she was horseback riding at the time.

Ethan again texted his mom when he was home alone on March 17, Wagrowski said.

"Ok the house is now haunted," Ethan texted his mom. "I got some videos. And a picture of the demon. Can you at least text back."

Wagrowski testified that Jennifer didn't respond to Ethan on March 17, as she was again horseback riding. But she did text husband James Crumbley on March 19 to discuss Ethan's behavior, Wagrowski said.

"He woke up looking like he had WAY too much to drink last night complaining about a headache," James texted Jennifer after Jennifer asked him if Ethan was awake. "Well he was really worked up and out of control so I can see why," Jennifer texted back.

The next day, Wagrowski said that Ethan texted his mom, "I finished picking up the room. I cleaned until the clothes started flying off the shelf. This stuff only happens when I’m home alone. I picked the clothes back up tho."

Wagrowski also revealed other text messages during the hearing that showed Jennifer and Ethan talking about Ethan's gun a day before the shooting, in which Jennifer asked Ethan if he showed school officials a "pic of your new gun," and Ethan replied "NO I didn't show them the pic my god."

Those texts were exchanged after Jennifer received a voicemail from a school administrator about a concerned teacher after she caught Ethan searching ammunition on his phone, Wagrowski testified. While some of the messages were previously released, some of those that Wagrowski read out loud in the courtroom were new.

Jennifer texted Ethan about looking up bullets while in school, in which Ethan replied he had got into trouble for that, but it was "completely harmless." Ethan then texted his mom, "This is nothing I should get in trouble about," and Jennifer replied, "You're not they left me a voicemail." Her text to her son included emojis of a woman covering her face.

Ethan then asked his mom if he could listen to the voicemail when he got home, and Jennifer replied "Ok I saved it."

A day later, authorities said Ethan opened fire in the high school, killing four students and wounding seven other people. He faces 24 charges as an adult, including four counts of premeditated murder and terrorism. Jennifer and James Crumbley were each charged with four counts manslaughter in connection with the shooting.