Crumbleys plan to use son's orthodontist, doctor as witnesses at trial: Here's why

The Oxford school shooter's parents plan to use their child's orthodontist, optometrist and doctor as witnesses in their upcoming trial as part of a broader effort to show they did not ignore his medical needs, as alleged by the prosecution, according to a new court filing.

James and Jennifer Crumbley are charged with involuntary manslaughter in the November 2021 shooting in which their son Ethan murdered four classmates and injured seven other people. Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing Dec. 8.

Lawyers for the parents filed a motion Thursday that seeks subpoena power to obtain various medical records kept by their son's health care providers, noting their Jan. 23 trial date is fast approaching and they need this information to be prepared. The records they are requesting involve Ethan Crumbley's visits to a doctor, optometrist and orthodontist before he carried out the shooting at Oxford High School.

"The materials sought are critical to the defense," attorneys Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman write in the filing, maintaining the information they seek will help contradict the prosecution's claims "that the Crumbleys failed to get their son medical attention."

Lawyers outline care the Crumbleys provided for their son

The charges against the Crumbleys allege they bought their son the gun he used in the deadly shooting and failed to tell the school about that gun when they had the chance. Prosecutors have long argued that the Crumbleys ignored a mentally ill son and bought him a gun instead of getting him help — actions they allege cost four students their lives.

The Crumbleys, however, maintain in court filings that they had no reason to believe their son had mental illness or needed treatment for any such problems, and that they attended to their son's overall health needs.

"When the shooter was experiencing headaches, the Crumbleys took the shooter to the doctor to determine the cause, an optometrist to have his vision checked, and the orthodontist to have him checked for temporomandibular disorder — commonly called 'TMJ,'" the Crumbleys' lawyers argue in their latest court filing.

"Further, contrary to the prosecution’s assertion that the Crumbleys neglected the shooter’s medical needs, Mr. and Mrs. Crumbley took the shooter to the orthodontist repeatedly for regular appointments and additional appointments because the shooter got cavities that required removal of the orthodontic wires so the cavities could be filled at the dentist over multiple appointments."

In seeking subpoena power for access to records now, the Crumbleys' lawyers explained that they anticipate the documents they are seeking will be "voluminous," time-consuming and "difficult to manage" at trial by both sides if they are received as the witnesses appear to testify. So they are hoping to get this information before trial, the filing notes, so that both parties can be prepared and ensure the trial "progresses efficiently."

Prosecutors respond to claim they want to have it both ways

In a Thursday filing, the prosecution stated that it did not object to providing the requested documents to the Crumbleys' lawyers, including the Center for Forensic Psychiatry report on Ethan Crumbley, but noted it needed a court order to do so.

Meanwhile, the prosecution also addressed a thorny issue raised by the defense this week — allegations that the prosecution has flip-flopped on the issue of whether Ethan Crumbley is mentally ill or not. The defense has alleged that in seeking a life-without-parole sentence for Crumbley, the prosecution has held that he was not mentally ill and knew what he was doing.

But in the parents' case, the defense has argued, the prosecution maintains the Crumbleys ignored a mentally ill son who was spiraling out of control and hallucinating. The defense maintains the prosecution can't have it both ways.

But the prosecution says the Crumbleys are mischaracterizing the criminal charges.

"The charges and allegations against these defendants, despite their attempts to misrepresent them, have always been consistent," Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast writes in the filing. "(The parents) purchased their son the firearm he used to commit the Oxford High School shooting when there were obvious signs that he was in crisis and when it was foreseeable that he would use the firearm to harm someone."

The prosecutor then cited the meeting in the counselor's office, where the parents were summoned on the morning before the shooting over their son's troubling behavior. On a math worksheet, he had drawn a picture of a gun, a bleeding body, and the words, "The thoughts won't stop. Help me."

"These (parents) failed to take their son home or get him help on the day of the shooting, despite his drawing stating 'Help me,'" the prosecutor wrote, adding this case "does not turn" on whether Ethan Crumbley meets the legal criteria for mental illness as defined by the law.

What's at issue here, the prosecutor wrote, is that the parents engaged in gross negligence, which in this case "is proven through the (Crumbleys') actions and inactions when confronted with obvious signs of crisis."

The Crumbleys' trial is scheduled to start six weeks after their son is sentenced for his crimes. Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 when he carried out the shooting, may spend the rest of his life in prison as a judge determined last month that he is eligible for a sentence of life without parole.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Parents plan to use Ethan Crumbley's doctor as witness in trial