What James Crumbley Told Son During Meeting With Counselors: Official

PONTIAC, MI — James Crumbley's comments to his son during a meeting with school counselors just hours before the deadly shooting "felt appropriate," Oxford High School Counselor Shawn Hopkins testified Monday.

Hopkins, who is currently on leave, testified that he met with Jennifer and James Crumbley during the morning hours on Nov. 30, 2021 after reviewing a disturbing drawing their son wrote on a math worksheet.

The worksheet had drawings of a gun, a bullet and a bleeding shooting victim, along with handwritten words reading: "My life is useless," "Blood everywhere" and "The thoughts won't stop, help me."

Hopkins said he was worried the couple's son, Ethan Crumbley, was showing suicidal ideations.

"I didn't want him to be alone," Hopkins said. "My concern was him."

Hopkins said he gave the parents a list of mental health resources and explained to them that they should get their son counseling services within 48 hours, and that he'd be following up with them.

Hopkins said he planned to call Child Protective Services if the couple did not seek out help for their son within the next 48 hours, but he never told the parents that.

While Hopkins was talking to Jennifer in the meeting, he overheard James talking to his son, Hopkins testified.

"James mentioned that, ‘you have people you can talk to, you can talk to your counselor, you have your journal, we can talk,’" Hopkins said. "My concern at that point was there wasn’t any action happening."

Jennifer then asked "Are we done" toward the end of the meeting, something Hopkins described as feeling like an "abrupt" end to the meeting, Hopkins testified.

Jennifer and James refused to take their son home after the meeting, so Hopkins asked other school officials if it was OK for Ethan to go back to class, Hopkins testified.

Hopkins said he was told there was no reason Ethan couldn't go back to class. Hopkins said he has dealt with roughly 20 cases of students showing suicidal ideations, and he couldn't think of any meetings where the parents did not take their child home.

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A few hours after returning to class, Ethan opened fire inside the high school, killing four fellow students and wounding seven other people, including a teacher. 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, 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.

James' wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was found guilty on the same charges. Her sentencing date is scheduled for April 9.

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."