Change of venue denied for Michigan school shooter's father

FILE -James Crumbley, father of Ethan Crumbley, a teenager accused... — FILE -James Crumbley, father of Ethan Crumbley, a teenager accused of killing four students in a shooting at Oxford High School, appears in court for a preliminary examination on involuntary manslaughter charges in Rochester Hills, Mich., Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. James Crumbley, the father of a Michigan school shooter wants jurors from a different county to decide his involuntary manslaughter case, arguing that he can't get a fair trial because of excessive publicity and his wife's recent conviction. Credit: AP/Paul Sancya

By The Associated PressFebruary 22, 2024

PONTIAC, Mich. — A judge on Thursday denied a change of venue request made by the father of a Michigan school shooter in his involuntary manslaughter case.

James Crumbley wanted jurors from a different county to hear the case, arguing that he could not get a fair trial because of widespread publicity and his wife’s recent conviction.

“They have been clearly convicted in the court of public opinion,” defense lawyer Mariell Lehman said in a court filing Feb. 14.

It’s unusual in Michigan to change the location of a trial or to bring in jurors from another county.

James Crumbley, 47, is accused of making a gun accessible to Ethan Crumbley and failing to get mental health care for his son.

The 15-year-old killed four students and wounded more during a mass shooting at Oxford High School in 2021.

Jury selection in the father’s Oakland County trial is scheduled for March 5.

Jennifer Crumbley, 45, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on Feb. 6 and is awaiting her sentence. Ethan Crumbley, who is now 17, pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism and is serving a life prison sentence with no chance for no parole.

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