Jury Seated In Case Against Oxford School Shooter's Father

PONTIAC, MI — A jury has been seated in the case against the Oxford school shooter's father and opening statements begin Thursday inside an Oakland County courtroom.

The jury is made up of nine women and six men. Three alternates will be chosen at random by the judge after each side rests its case.

Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews asked jurors to follow the court's orders and not speak to anyone about the case to avoid compromising the trial's fairness. She told jurors the case has been highly stressful for the victims' families and everyone else involved.

James Crumbley, 47, was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly shooting. He faces up to 15 years in prison on each charge. His trial starts a month after his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was found guilty on the same charges. Her sentencing date is scheduled for April 9.

The couple's son, 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.

James Crumbley suffered multiple blows leading up to his trial date, as Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews refused to move the trial out of the county and ruled the shooter's journal passages and text messages can be presented as evidence. She also ruled the jury can hear from a student who was injured in the shooting.

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."