Oxford Shooter's Dad Says He Can't Get A Fair Trial In Oakland County

PONTIAC, MI — The father of the Oxford school shooter asked a judge Wednesday to move his upcoming trial out of Oakland County, arguing he can't get a fair trial in the county due to the number of people connected to the deadly shooting, according to court documents.

James Crumbley, 47, is set to go on trial March 5 for manslaughter charges in connection with the deadly shooting. He faces up to 15 years in prison on each charge.

Crumbley's attorney, Mariell Lehman, argued Crumbley cannot get a fair trial in the county because most of the roughly one million adult residents in Oakland County paid attention to the trial of his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, who was found guilty on the same charges.

"Mr. Crumbley wants, and is entitled to, a fair trial with impartial jurors who do not have personal connections to the school shooting or its victims and jurors who have not been influenced by the inflammatory media, consistent livestream coverage, numerous media articles and particularly by interviews conducted with Prosecutor McDonald that include completely inaccurate information that the public has accepted and repeated as facts of the case," Lehman said.

Lehman also accused prosecutors of putting out false statements about the couple after the shooting that "destroyed Mr. Crumbley and his wife in the media," eliminating any chance at a fair trial. She also noted that law enforcement told the couple to leave their home after the shooting for their own safety.

"They have been clearly convicted in the court of public opinion," Lehman said.

Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews denied Jennifer Crumbley's request to move her trial out of the county. The matter in James' case will likely come up during a Wednesday hearing when Matthew is set to rule on potential evidence and witnesses testifying in the trial.

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 patenting, 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."

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.

The shooter, who is now 17, was sentenced to life without parole last December.