Jury selection begins in manslaughter trial for father of Oxford, Mich., school shooter Ethan Crumbley
March 5 (UPI) -- Jury selection began Tuesday in the manslaughter trial for the father of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley.
The trial for James Crumbley is expected to last two weeks. He has been charged on four counts of involuntary manslaughter -- one count each for the four students killed by his son in November 2021.
Ethan Crumbley -- who was 15 when he killed four of his fellow students with a gun given to him by his parents -- was sentenced in December 2023 to life in prison without the chance of parole.
Proceedings for the day began around 7 a.m. local time but selection for the 12 jurors out of 308 candidates -- which is expected to be a challenging task given the high-profile nature of the trials -- did not begin until about 9:50 a.m., with legal representatives reviewing the standards for jury selection in the morning before jury selection proceedings began, according to Click On Detroit.
The potential jurors -- some 200 sent home at about 3 p.m. and told to come back to next day -- were asked a series of questions, such as if they had an "Oxford Strong" sign in their yard.
Before the proceedings began, Crumbley -- who was wearing a headset to aid with his hearing -- was asked a series of questions by Judge Cheryl Matthews concerning his defense attorney, Mariell Lehman.
Jennifer and James Crumbley had requested to have separated trials but the trial for the school shooter's father comes nearly a month after his estranged wife Jennifer Crumbley -- who has an April 9 sentencing date -- was found guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for her role in the shooting.
They two are the only known parents to ever be charged in connection to a child's shooting.
Evidence -- some of it Ethan Crumbley's journal and text message exchanges and disputed by the Crumbley father's defense attorney -- was admitted to the court around 11 a.m. to show by the prosecution team of Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald that James Crumbley had ignored his sons alleged calls for help.
