'Suck It Up,' James Crumbley Told His Son: Prosecutors

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — During James and Jennifer Crumbley's Thursday preliminary hearing, prosecutors revealed text messages that accused Oxford school shooter, Ethan Crumbley, exchanged with a friend saying his father told him to "suck it up" when he asked his dad to take him to a doctor.

"I need help," Ethan texted his friend. "I was thinking of calling 911 so I could go to the hospital. But my parents would be pissed."

Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast read out loud the text messages Ethan shared with his friend about his home life and mental health, including one that said "everybody makes me feel like I’m the problem."

"It’s like I’m asking to go to the doctor," Ethan texted his friend. "Then seeing my mom laugh when I told her."

Keast accused Ethan's parents of ignoring these desperate pleas for help leading up to the deadly Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School that killed four students and wounded seven other people. Keast also said Ethan accused his mother of thinking that he was "so mad and sad all the time because I take drugs."

"Now my mom thinks I take drugs," Ethan texted his friend. "Like she thinks the reason why I’m so mad and sad all the time is because I take drugs, and she doesn’t worry about my mental health."

Shortly after the text exchanges Ethan shared with his friend on April 5, Keast said Ethan reached out to his parents for help.

"My mom makes everyone feel like a piece of s---," Ethan texted his friend. "I actually asked my dad to take me to the doctor yesterday but he just gave me some pills and told me to 'suck it up.'"

Thursday's hearing is the second day of James and Jennifer's preliminary hearing. A judge will decide if there's enough probable cause for the case to go to trial; each is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.