Prosecution releases James Crumbley's threatening jail calls against Karen McDonald

Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·6 min read
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In calling for a stiff prison sentence for James Crumbley, the prosecution on Wednesday disclosed the damning phone conversations that Crumbley had in jail when he allegedly threatened Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who made history this year in securing convictions against the first parents in America charged in a mass school shooting involving their child.

According to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, James Crumbley made threats toward McDonald in numerous jail phone calls over the last two years when he was locked up on involuntary manslaughter charges for his role in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting that was carried out by his son. Four students died and six other students and a teacher were injured.

The prosecution is now hoping to use James Crumbley's jail calls against him as it is seeking a 10- to 15-year prison sentence for the embattled father, though his recommended sentencing range from the state calls for significantly less: 43-86 months, or about seven years maximum.

James Crumbley strains to listen as the jury reads guilty verdicts as he sits with his attorney Mariell Lehman in the Oakland County Courtroom of Judge Cheryl Matthews on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Crumbley was tried on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the four students killed in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting perpetrated by his son Ethan Crumbley.

James Crumbley is asking for time served, but the prosecutor's office isn't having it, and wants to use his jail phone conversations against him, arguing: "Defendant’s jail calls showed that he blamed everyone but himself for what happened and that he repeatedly referred to himself as being persecuted and considered himself a ‘martyr.’"

According to the prosecution's sentencing memo filed Wednesday, James Crumbley repeatedly referred to McDonald as “that f------ stupid w---- b----,” and at times addressed his comments directly to her, stating: “Yeah, YOU f------ Karen McDonald. You’re a f------ stupid b----. I hope you’re listening to this, you f------ b----.”

More: Prosecution seeks 10-15 years in prison for James and Jennifer Crumbley

James Crumbley's jail communications privileges were revoked in the middle of his trial due to those alleged threats — even though some were made as early as 2022. It is not clear why they were disclosed during trial. The comments include:

  • “Yeah, Karen McDonald, you’re going down. … Go ahead, record this call. Send it to Karen McDonald. Tell her how James Crumbley is going to f------ take her down,” James Crumbley said in an Oct. 9, 2023, jail call, five months before his trial started.

  • “There will be retribution, believe me,” he says in another call on Dec. 23, 2023.

  • “Yeah, f------ Karen McDonald. You’re f----- when I get out,” he said in a Dec. 20, 2023, jail call.

  • “Well, she’s going to be f------ sucking on a f------ hot rock down in hell soon,” he said in a Dec. 6, 2022, jail call — more than a year before his trial.

  • “I am f------ on a rampage, Karen. Yes, Karen McDonald. Your ass is going down and you better be f------ scared,” he said in a Jan. 3 jail phone call, just months before he went to trial.

On March 7, the judge revoked James Crumbley's jail communication privileges — though he continued his antics in a different way, prosecutors said. After his communications were cut off, they claim, James Crumbley flipped off the prosecution in court.

James Crumbley shoots a glance at Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Joseph Shada as he exits the Oakland County Courtroom of Judge Cheryl Matthews on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. Crumbley will be tried on four counts of involuntary manslaughter after his son was the perpetrator in a mass shooting at Oxford High School killing four students. His wife Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty on all four counts in this landmark case holding parents responsible for the guns that are in their homes.

'I had no knowledge of what he was going to do'

In arguing that James Crumbley has taken no responsibility for his actions, the prosecution cited an interview that James Crumbley had with investigators as they prepared his presentence investigation report, which was completed Tuesday. Here is what James Crumbley wrote for the investigators preparing that report:

“My son carried out a school shooting on Nov. 30th 2021. He was the ONLY one involved. I had no knowledge of what he was going to do, or presented with ANY warning signs. I absolutely had no knowledge that he had ever obtained access to my gun…"

According to trial testimony, James Crumbley gifted a gun to his son, Ethan, and then failed to secure it effectively: It was hidden in an armoire, unloaded, and the bullets were hidden in a separate drawer. Prosecutors also argued that James Crumbley ignored his son's mental health struggles, and instead of getting him help, he bought him a gun, and never disclosed that gun to school officials when he had the chance.

In his interview with investigators after his conviction, James Crumbley maintained the following:

"I did NOT participate! I feel absolutely horrible/am devastated for what happened to those four children. I would give anything to go back and do something different that would have changed what happened.

"I have spent 2 years and 4 months in a county jail. The first 9 months I was locked in for 23½ hours a day. The rest of the time I’ve spent in a single man cell 23 hours per day. I’ve only been allowed outside 10 times during this 2.4 yr period. I feel the Court should allow me time served.”

'My actions were that of any other parent'

In another section, he wrote:

“I am wrongly accused, and now wrongly convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter. My actions were that of any other parent. Ethan was a great kid. He never got in trouble at school, had decent grades, and very rarely got in trouble at home. And when he did get in minor trouble it was just about grades or assignments he needed to complete. Ethan always appeared to be a very stable individual. Never did he voice anything to me that anything was bothering him. I talked with him everyday and he always said ‘things are fine dad.’ I’d ask about school and assignments, or how he was doing with his friend being gone. Same answer always, ‘just fine. He’ll be back and I have other friends at school.’ He just reminded me of any other 15 yr old. Typical teenager."

James Crumbley also talked about his gun hobby.

"I followed the law and took gun safety to the point as needed. My gun was hidden in a location that, until I found out differently, only I knew of. The bullets were also hidden. In a different location. I had no idea how he obtained access till the (psychiatric) doctor he met with at the forensics facility testified in his Miller hearing (for the prosecution) that he snuck in my room to locate the gun, and then later snuck into my room to steal it."

According to James Crumbley, this information was provided in a report to the prosecution in March 2022, and that the psychiatrist who spoke with his son "also concluded that he was not mentally ill."

"So the reasons I was charged have been concluded to not be true. Yet I'm still prosecuted as if they were. ... My prosecution and conviction are based on lies, things my son said only to his friend, and emotions."

James Crumbley then expressed regret:

"I feel horrible for what happened and would do anything to be able to go back in time and change it! But I can’t. And I had nothing to do with what happened."

The jury disagreed.

Crumbley is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday, along with his wife, Jennifer, who was convicted of the same charges by a separate jury. Their son pleaded guilty to all charges against him and is serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Contact Tresa Baldas:tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: James Crumbley's threatening jail calls against prosecutor released