Crumbley mom spared from salacious past being used against her in school shooting trial

Five days after their son was sentenced to life in prison, the parents of the Oxford school shooter are due in court Wednesday morning for a hearing regarding their upcoming historic trials, with the mom recently getting a dose of good news.

The judge has ruled that Jennifer Crumbley's alleged extramarital affairs will not be admissible as evidence against her, nor will her son's bird-torture hobby, which included the teenager mutilating baby birds and storing a bird's head in a jar under his bed.

Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews held that the so-called "bird evidence" is irrelevant, but noted that "even if it were relevant, it is unfairly prejudicial."

Prosecutors had hoped to use the "bird evidence" against Jennifer Crumbley, who, along with her husband, James, are the first parents in America to be charged in a mass school shooting. The couple have separate trials on involuntary manslaughter charges for buying their son, Ethan, the gun that he used in the massacre and not disclosing that to the school when they had the chance to.

Four students were killed in the shooting. Six others and a teacher were also injured.

Mom's knowledge of troubled son's bird behavior

From the get-go, the prosecution has laid much blame for the tragedy on the Crumbleys, portraying them as selfish parents who cared more about their horses and getting drunk than taking care of their troubled son. Specifically, the prosecutors allege the parents ignored a child who was spiraling out of control and hallucinating, and instead of getting him help, they bought him a gun, which he used to carry out the Nov. 30, 2021, massacre.

As for the bird evidence, the prosecution disclosed new details about Jennifer Crumbley's knowledge of her son's bird interest. For example, on May 3, 2021, Ethan Crumbley took a picture of an unmutilated bird and posted it on his Instagram page with the following text: "How do you do fellow bird."

A month later, his mom responded "Dead," with an emoji of a person with hands raised up.

Similar pictures of this same bird and a nest were found on Jennifer Crumbley's phone, the prosecution wrote in a Dec. 7 filing, arguing the jury needs to see a "complete picture" of the bird evidence at the mother's trial. The prosecution also wanted jurors to know about the photograph of a bird's head in a jar that Ethan Crumbley took on May 15, 2021.

But the judge said no, granting the wish of the defense, which had previously argued:

"The 'bird evidence' is so extremely disgusting, sickening and appalling that its admission would certainly inflame the passions of a jury. The jury will undoubtedly judge Mrs. Crumbley for the heinous acts of her son, which she knew nothing about," defense attorney Shannon Smith wrote in a previous filing.

Evidence that will and won't be allowed

Smith also expressed concern about the prosecution using as evidence an alleged affair by the mom when Ethan was 6. The judge previously ruled an affair the mother had cannot be used as evidence in her trial. But the prosecution has talked of a second affair it discovered by the mom when Ethan Crumbley was 6, and the defense feared it may bring it up at trial. So it asked for clarity.

The judge concluded no affairs would be admitted as evidence. Nor would the parents' messy house, alcohol and pot use in the home, their son's internet searches and a Nazi coin he kept.

But she will allow evidence about the time and money the Crumbleys spent on horseback riding and their son playing violent video games.

More recently, the judge also admitted as evidence an Instagram account by Ethan Crumbley that his mom followed.

While the shooter kept multiple Instagram accounts, one included a photo of the gun that his dad bought him during a Black Friday shopping trip in 2021, just four days before the shooting.

After getting his gun, Ethan Crumbley took photos of it and posted it to Instagram, writing: "Just got my new beauty today. Sig Sauer 9 mm."

His mom had access to that account.

Four days later, after his parents were summoned to his school over a troubling drawing he had made in math class, Ethan Crumbley emerged from a bathroom and opened fire with his new gun.

The prosecution argues that the Crumbleys, more than anyone else, could have prevented that shooting had they just disclosed to the school that they had bought their son a gun days earlier. But they withheld that information after being shown a drawing their son had made of a gun, a bleeding body, and the words, "The Thoughts won't stop, help me." The couple asked whether their son could be returned to class, went back to their jobs, and promised to get their son help in the coming days.

The Crumbleys maintain they had no way of knowing their son would carry out a school shooting, and that the gun at issue was safely stored.

Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 when he committed the shooting and later pleaded guilty to all the charges, did not ask for leniency at his sentencing last week. Rather, he told the judge to give the victims what they asked for, and that only he — no one else — was responsible for the tragedy.

The teenage killer also made a disclosure that could help his parents, whom prosecutors say engaged in gross negligence that contributed to the deaths of the four slain students.

"We are all here because of me today, what I did ... I could not stop myself," Crumbley told the judge at sentencing. "My parents did not know what I planned to do. They are not at fault."

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: James, Jennifer Crumbley due in court days after son's sentencing