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James, Ethan and Jennifer Crumbley
The love between convicted mass shooter Ethan Crumbley and his parents is being tested in court.
The 18-year-old's parents are trying to block him from getting access to their confidential pre-sentencing reports, information his lawyer feels might help him appeal his life-without parole sentence, Tresa Baldas of the Detroit Free Press reports. Those reports include information about the parents' lifestyles and their son's upbringing.
Jennifer and James Crumbley were recently sentenced to 10 to 15 years each after being convicted in separate trials of four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the four students their son murdered during a shooting spree in November 2021 at Oxford High School. Seven other people were wounded including a teacher. Both parents are appealing their case.
Prosecutors during trial placed a lot of the blame for the shooting on the parents for failing to address their son's problems and buying him a gun when he was suffering from depression.
The parents, through their lawyers, have filed court papers opposing their son, saying he has no right to their confidential reports. During sentencing, Ethan did not blame his parents, but that strategy for his appeal appears to have changed.
The Freep reports:
"Under the law, the court should deny (Ethan Crumbley's) motion for the production of Mrs.Crumbley’s confidential pre-sentence report " Jennifer Crumbley's appellate lawyer, Michael Dezsi, writes in a filing, maintaining there's a state law that "expressly" states that "all records and reports of investigations made by a probation officer … shall be privileged and confidential [and] not open to public inspection.”
