PONTIAC, MI – The father of a teenage boy who shot and killed four students at a Michigan high school has had his communication privileges restricted in prison for making “threatening statements,” authorities said Thursday.
James Crumbley, 47, is on trial for manslaughter in connection with the 2021 murder of his son at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office said Crumbley's phone calls and electronic messages while in jail were “restricted due to threatening statements he made during phone calls and electronic messages.” The spokesperson did not provide details about who the alleged remarks were directed at.
A court order signed Thursday by the judge overseeing his trial prohibits any contact with Mr. Crumbley, except with Mr. Crumbley's attorney, legitimate clergy, or when using the tablet for research. It stipulates that the communication will be cancelled.
Ethan Crumbley, then 15, opened fire on November 30, 2021, with a 9mm handgun his father had purchased four days earlier.
Prosecutors allege that Crumbley gave his son a semi-automatic Sig Sauer pistol as a gift and failed to properly secure it or intervene to prevent his son from killing him.
Oakland County Prosecutor Mark Keast told jurors that Crumbley “knew that her son was in the midst of complete and utter social isolation and was in a downward spiral of distress.” “Despite that,” he said, he bought his son a gun.
Crumbley's attorney said in court Thursday that she had no knowledge that her son posed any danger or that he had access to a gun.
Information about his intimidation charges and new restrictions was released late Thursday after the jury was dismissed for the day and prosecutors wanted to discuss unspecified issues in open court.
Crumbley's attorney objected to discussing the case with the media, and Crumbley briefly left the courtroom to speak with prosecutors. When they returned, they told the judge they had reached an agreement to cancel Crumbley's prison communications, but to allow him to continue researching, reading and gathering information so he could participate in the defense.
Prosecutors said in court that the restrictions could expire after a verdict is issued because “once a verdict is issued, many issues disappear.”
Crumbley and his wife Jennifer Crumbley; In a rare criminal case that holds parents responsible for a school shooting, they have been charged separately with four counts of manslaughter in connection with their son's death.
Jennifer Crumbley, 45, was found guilty on all charges last month and is scheduled to be sentenced in April. She could face up to 15 years in prison on each charge, as would her husband if convicted.
Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty in October 2022 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Selina Guevara reported from Pontiac and Phil Helsel reported from Los Angeles.