Ethan Crumbley's new lawyers will try to keep him from testifying in parents' trials

On the eve of his parents' trials kicking off, Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley has dropped a bombshell: He is appealing his life-without-parole sentence — and his new lawyers plan to fight any efforts to get him to testify in his parents' historic case, according to new court documents.

The State Appellate Defender's Office disclosed these developments in a Monday court filing, one day before jury selection is set to begin for Jennifer Crumbley, who, like her husband, James, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting in which their son killed four students and injured seven other people.

The son last month was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The appellate defender's office announced Monday that it has been assigned to represent the shooter in his appeal, but that it has not yet spoken to him. This information was detailed in a letter to the judge overseeing the parents' case.

The letter also noted that Ethan Crumbley's name appears on a witness list for at least one of the parents' trials — the couple are being tried separately, with the father's trial now set for March 5 — though he will be advised against taking the stand in the unprecedented case.

Attorneys will seek to block Ethan Crumbley's medical records

"Given Ethan Crumbley's ongoing appeal and the substantial overlap in the subject matter in these three cases, we will advise Ethan to invoke his right to remain silent, should he be called to testify in either pending trial," appellate defenders Alison Swain and Jacqueline Ouvry wrote in the letter to Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews.

Crumbley's new lawyers also advised the judge that they plan to fight any efforts by any lawyer to use confidential information about Crumbley as evidence in the parents' trials, such as any interviews he had with forensic experts, or documents or reports involving any medical treatment. The defense argues this information is privileged and confidential, and should not be allowed at the parents' trial.

Crumbley's mental health is expected to play a key role in his parents' case as the prosecution has long argued that James and Jennifer Crumbley ignored a troubled son who was depressed, lonely and hallucinating. And instead of getting him help, they say, they bought him a gun — which he used in the shooting on Nov. 30, 2021.

James and Jennifer Crumbley, who are the first parents in America charged in a mass school shooting, have long maintained that they had no way of knowing their son would shoot up his school, and that the gun at issue was safely stored.

The shooter pleaded guilty to all his crimes last year and was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison in December. At his sentencing, he did not ask for leniency, but rather told the judge to give the victims the justice they want. Oakland County Circuit Judge Kwame Rowe concluded that Crumbley should never be free again given his crimes when he handed down the life sentence on Dec. 8.

Potential impact of killer not testifying in parents' trials

Six days later, a notice of appeal was filed in Crumbley's case with the court.

Here is how Ethan Crumbley could affect his parents' cases if his new lawyers have their way:

The defense would not be able to question the shooter about whether his parents influenced his decision to shoot up his school or played a role in the shooting — a topic he addressed at his sentencing hearing last month, when he told the judge:

"We are all here because of me today ... because of what I chose to do. ...  My parents did not know what I planned to do, they are not at fault."

The parents' lawyers believe Ethan Crumbley's medical records will also help bolster that claim, along with interviews he had with psychiatrists and other medical experts, though his new lawyers are trying to block them from using that information at trial.

The records at issue were used in the shooter's summer Miller hearing, the proceeding after which the judge concluded the teen was eligible for a sentence of life without parole.

In November, lawyers for the parents successfully sought permission to review those mental health records, which, they maintain, show contradictions in the shooter's story. For example, the mom's lawyer said she discovered that the shooter told a psychiatrist that he never asked his parents for therapy and admitted that he lied when he texted a friend about asking for such help.

"This information is clearly critical to the Crumbleys, who have been criticized repeatedly by the prosecution for not listening to the shooter’s request for therapy," the mom's attorney Shannon Smith has argued in past court documents.

But the shooter's new lawyers maintain that information should remain confidential, arguing there are "no exceptions" under the law that warrant using such personal and "privileged" information "in someone else's trial."

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ethan Crumbley to appeal life sentence in Oxford H.S. shooting