Witness: Jennifer Crumbley 'felt like a failure' as a mom to school shooting suspect
On the morning Jennifer Crumbley met Oxford school officials about her son's behavior, she texted a horse farm owner that she was having a "shit day," that her son "couldn't be left alone" and that she would still make her horseback riding lesson that night, a witness testified Tuesday.
That same witness said in court that Jennifer Crumbley planned on taking her son, Ethan, horseback riding with her that same evening, hoping it would help him deal with the problems he was having at school.
The lesson, though, never happened as Jennifer Crumbley would deliver an alarming message to the horse farmer later that night:
"My son ruined so many lives today."
The witness, Kira Pennock, 25, a horse farm owner from Metamora, was the first to testify at the preliminary exam in district court in Rochester Hills for Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of the 15-year-old suspect charged in the Nov. 30 deadly mass shooting at Oxford High School.
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Pennock testified that Jennifer Crumbley had previously expressed concern about her son's lifestyle, telling her she thought it was "weird" that he didn't have friends — except for one who moved away — and was on the Internet or played video games most of the time.
The Crumbleys are charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly buying their son the gun that police say was used in the shooting, and failing to properly secure it.
Andrew Smith, a lawyer and CEO of a real estate company where Jennifer Crumbley worked as a marketing director, also testified Tuesday about his communications with the mother on the morning of the shooting. Smith said Jennifer Crumbley texted him about having to leave work to attend a meeting involving her son.
When she returned to work, Smith said, he asked her how she was doing. She told him that her son needed counseling, he said, and confided about how she felt as a mother.
"I think she said she felt like she was failing him, or a failure," Smith said, recalling their conversation.
About an hour later, Smith said he heard yelling and screaming in the office. It was Jennifer Crumbley saying there was an active shooter at her son's school, and that she had to go.
Later that day, Smith said he got a confusing text from Jennifer Crumbley: "The gun is gone and so are the bullets."
Smith said he had no idea what that meant, but texted her back: 'I'm praying everything is OK."
Then came another text.
"OMG Andy. He's going to kill himself. He must be the shooter," Jennifer Crumbley texted her boss.
She followed up with: "Ethan did it."
At 9:30 that same night, she texted Smith again: "I need my job, please don't judge me for what my son did."
Smith said he was "alarmed" by the text.
“I was surprised she was worried about her job at that point; I thought she would be more concerned about what was going on," Smith testified.
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Pennock, the horse farmer, also testified that after the shooting, Jennifer Crumbley texted her: " 'I wish we had warnings, something. He's a good kid. He made a terrible decision.' "
On cross examination from defense attorney Shannon Smith, Pennock said that her dealings with the Crumbleys were mostly about horses, and that she never considered calling the police about their son. She said she never saw any red flags about his behavior, and noted that she had seen Facebook photos of the Crumbley family camping and socializing together.
Pennock said that she also never discussed Ethan with his father.
"So you never said, 'Hey, Jen, wake up. There are signs,' " Smith said.
"No," the witness answered.
About 30 witnesses are scheduled for the preliminary exam, during which a judge will decide if there is enough evidence to order the couple to stand trial. The exam broke for lunch and will resume at 1 p.m.
The Crumbleys have denied wrongdoing, maintaining they properly secured the gun in their home, that they had no way of knowing their son would use it to shoot up his school, and that they are not responsible for the deadly shooting.
Ethan Crumbley, 15, is charged with terrorism and first-degree murder and faces up to life in prison. Prosecutors have said the teenager showed behavior problems in school on the day of and before the shooting, including drawing a picture of a gun on his homework with the words: "The thoughts won't stop. Please help me."
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A teacher found that drawing on the morning of the shooting and reported it to school officials, who pulled Ethan Crumbley out of class, summoned his parents and told them they had 48 hours to get him help. The Crumbleys refused to take their son home and asked that he be returned to class, police have said.
School officials allowed him to go back to class, without ever searching his backpack, which police believe contained the gun.
Separately, two civil lawsuits have been filed against the Oxford school district, alleging school officials made several missteps and put the students' lives in danger.
The district has denied any wrongdoing, saying the actions taken by teachers, counselors and others were "proper" and "lawful." The Oxford school district also argues it cannot be held liable for the shooting because, it maintains, it is protected by governmental immunity.
Contact Tresa Baldas at tbaldas@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oxford shooting suspect's mom felt she failed her son, witness says
