The father of the Michigan school shooter wants a new trial, alleges a secret immunity agreement

Pontiac, MI – After their sentences for four positions, each of the homicides, both parents of a school shooter in Michigan have presented motions for new judgments.

The last request comes from James Crumblary, 48, whose lawyers presented their motion at the Oakland County District Court on February 28.

He cites reasons similar to those included in the motion of his wife Jennifer Crumblary, which his lawyers presented on December 2.

His 18 -year -old son Ethan Crumblary declared himself guilty and is fulfilling life imprisonment for a shooting at school that killed four students in Oxford High School on November 30, 2021.

A main argument is that prosecutors held secret agreements with witnesses, impacting the equity of judgments. An offer agreement occurs when a prosecutor accepts not to accuse a witness in exchange for true testimony.

Professor’s agreements were released by the Oakland Karen D. McDonald’s County Prosecutor’s Office in March 2024, after the conviction and sentences of Jennifer and James Crumblary.

The agreements were made with lawyers representing the former Dean of Oxford Students High School Nicholas Ejak and the guidance counselor Shawn Hopkins, who testified in the separate trials of the parents and have never faced criminal charges.

The agreements made with their lawyers indicate that the purpose was to obtain truthful information, “including information on possible criminal activity”, and “promises of favorable consideration were not offered.”

The same agreement also establishes: “This office will not offer any statement offered by you or your client in the case of this office in any criminal prosecution of your client.”

“No one got an agreement, no one was promised to immunity to prosecution,” said Oakland County assistant, David Williams, Mlive in January, related to Jennifer Crumblary’s motion. “The agreements offered are a common investigation tool that allows witnesses to share information with prosecutors. We provide defense all the necessary discovery, since they are entitled to under the law. “

The defense does not agree.

“To the extent that the Prosecutor’s Office can argue that the prosecutor cannot grant immunity to a witness without judicial measures, the Prosecutor’s Office is wrong,” defense lawyers said. “Our federal courts have repeatedly recognized that the letters or agreements offered, such as the case at the moment, give a witness an informal concession of immunity.”

There are other claims on the motion of 52 pages for a new presentation by lawyer Alona Sharon on behalf of James Crumblary.

Among them is that Ethan Crumblary should have been available to testify in their parents’ tests.

Since the adolescent already declared himself guilty and had been sentenced, Sharon wrote that the protections of the fifth amendment used as a reason not to call him to the stretch was not applied.

Oakland Circuit Judge, Cheryl A. Matthews, has not governed the motions of any of the parents.

They were accused of negligence for not intervening when their son exhibited signs of emotional anguish and for not preventing his son from accessing the gun he used, an early Christmas gift, in the shooting.

The fatal shooting victims were: Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six more students and a teacher also suffered gunshot wounds.

Jennifer and James Crumblary were sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison.

James Crumblary’s motion requests that a new trial or a hearing be granted to present evidence that can be used in a future appeal.