The jury in James Crumbley’s manslaughter trial was dismissed early for the day on Thursday, with prosecutors and his defense attorney arguing before the judge over communications the father of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley had made from jail.
Ultimately, prosecutors and the defense agreed to limit his communications during trial to only speaking to his attorneys and conducting or participating in research related to his defense. It was not revealed what communications James Crumbley had made that prompted the disagreement.
Even before opening arguments got underway, the judge made a ruling to exclude from evidence texts between the shooter and his mother, Jennifer Crumbley. Judge Cheryl Matthews said she would not admit the texts — which Ethan sent to his mother’s phone while the couple was allegedly taking photos and ignoring his messages asking for help — because there was no evidence that James Crumbley knew about them or saw them.
James Crumbley is facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter for his alleged role in the November 2021 shooting in which four students were killed and seven others were injured. Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17, were killed in the shooting.
His trial comes weeks after Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of the same four charges. She will be sentenced in April.
The cases are a rare instance of parents being charged in connection with a shooting carried out by their child.
