Jennifer Crumbley trial: Jury continues deliberations Tuesday

PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - A jury found Jennifer Crumbley guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday afternoon.

They deliberated for a day and a half before reaching their verdict. Find the latest coverage here.

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Jurors will return to Oakland County Sixth Circuit Court for a second day of deliberations in the Jennifer Crumbley trial, where the mother of the Oxford High School shooter faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The jury was sent home early Monday evening without reaching a verdict and are expected to resume deliberations at 9 a.m. Tuesday. FOX 2 will have a camera in the courtroom Tuesday as we await a verdict.

The case is an unprecedented one and could have big implications for prosecuting mass shooting cases going forward. Crumbley is the first parent charged with a crime in connection to their child's actions in carrying out a school shooting.

While nobody can know which side the jury is leaning, the questions they asked the judge and both legal teams to clarify did offer a peek into how they are considering Crumbley's guilt.

Jury deliberations continue in Jennifer Crumbley's trial

"If there’s a ‘not guilty’ verdict, then the prosecution has to make a determination: ‘Do we want to go forward and prosecute James Crambley?’" said Attorney Todd Perkins.

Day 1 of deliberations

Crumbley arrived in court on the first day of deliberations around 9 a.m. From there, 12 jurors were given instructions on their task before being separated to another room.

Their first question came around 12:33 p.m. when they sought clarity on the two theories for proving gross negligence. The prosecution can prove involuntary manslaughter in two ways. One, if Jennifer Crumbley was grossly negligent in doing certain things, and two, if Jennifer Crumbley was grossly negligent in not doing certain things.

The second question came an hour later when they asked how they should considering evidence about how the shooter got the gun.

Despite the mountain of evidence that was presented in the case, the specific steps of how the shooter obtained the gun were left out. The jury had asked how it should weigh evidence and if it can infer anything from what wasn't presented.

The jury was sent home around 4:36 p.m. without a verdict.

What is Jennifer Crumbley charged with?

Jennifer Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count for each student killed by her son at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021.

Her husband, James Crumbley, is also facing the same charges and is expected to go to trial after Jennifer's trial is complete.

What did Jennifer Crumbley do?

The prosecution argues that Jennifer and James ignored their son's mental health and even bought him a gun before the Oxford High School shooting.

Jennifer's attorney maintains that her client knew nothing about guns and was not involved in purchasing the weapon. Receipts provided in court show that James bought the gun, and the shooter admitted during his plea hearing that he gave James money to buy the firearm. Video from a gun range showed Jennifer shooting a gun with her son, but her lawyer claims she didn't know what she was doing.

Journal entries detailing the shooter's mental state have been presented in court, but Jennifer's defense argues that there is no evidence Jennifer knew about this writing.

Witnesses called by the prosecution during the trial have also described a meeting between the Crumbley parents and school officials the morning of the shooting. The parents were called after violent drawings were discovered on their son's schoolwork.

During this meeting, a school counselor told the parents to get their son mental health help as soon as possible and recommended that they take him home from school. However, the parents chose not to take him home.