Judge Orders James And Jennifer Crumbley To Stand Trial

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — A Rochester Hills Judge ordered James and Jennifer Crumbley to stand trial on charges accusing them of involuntary manslaughter as their preliminary exam came to an end Thursday afternoon.

The couple was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, after authorities said their son opened fire in the high school, killing four students and wounding seven other people.

"There was extensive testimony that Ethan Crumbley was a troubled young man," Nicholson said in making the ruling. "And they purchased him a gun, which he did use."

Prosecutors revealed text messages accused Oxford shooter Ethan Crumbley exchanged with a friend about his home life and mental state of mind. In one message, he said his father told him to "suck it up," after he asked his father to take him to a doctor.

Prosecutors also read chilling excerpts from Ethan's journal, which they said every page detailed his motive and plans to shoot up the school. Passages from the journal also showed his parents ignoring his mental health issues, prosecutors said.

However, defense lawyers argued the couple had no way of knowing Ethan's plans to shoot up the school, as there was nothing in Ethan's text messages or his journal to indicate his desired plans.

"There is no reason to predict and foreshadow that there would be a school shooting," defense attorney Shannon Smith said. "James and Jennifer Crumbley did not know that a murder would be committed. Jennifer and James would have been horrified."