MI Judge Denies To Remove Prosecutor From Jennifer Crumbley's Case

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — An Oakland County judge on Tuesday denied a motion from Jennifer Crumbley to remove the county's prosecutor from her case.

Crumbley's lawyer, Michael Dezsi, asked the judge to remove Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald from the case after he said she ran a $150,000 "smear campaign" against Crumbley. Dezsi accused McDonald of using two different public relations firms/social media influencers to paint a negative image of Crumbley, violating a gag order.

McDonald blasted the filing, saying it is "not legally proper" and the notion she ran a smear campaign is "ludicrous."

Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews agreed, saying that her court does not have jurisdiction to decide the motion. Moreover, she said the court refused to hear any argument over gag order violations because they were not the subject of the original motion.

"The People acknowledge that they requested that the County Executive and Board of Commissioners approve the retention of the crisis communications professional to field and respond to the media inquiries prior to the gag order and before the jury trial," Matthews ruled. "The People deny that the retention of the crisis communications professional resulted in a 'smear' campaign on the fact that the Court addressed Defendant’s media coverage complaints in pretrial motions."

Matthews also sanctioned Crumbley's attorneys for filing the motion that she said was brought "for an improper purpose" and was unwarranted.

McDonald said the filing was an attempt to take attention off Crumbley herself. She has defended her decision to use a crisis communications team as a way to handle an overwhelming number of media inquiries. She said the team was hired with the approval of the county executive and the board of commissioners, and the team talked with the media on a daily basis, "not drumming up coverage."

"The court showed it has no tolerance for the defense’s misuse of the legal process, and they have been appropriately sanctioned," McDonald said in a statement. "Let’s be clear about what this case is really about: If not for Jennifer Crumbley's actions, Madisyn, Tate, Hana, and Justin would still be here. I will never stop fighting for them."

Matthew's ruling comes as she is still weighing whether to grant Crumbley a new trial after Dezsi said prosecutors did not share proffer agreements they signed with school officials for their testimony at her trial, interfering with her right to a fair trial.

Prosecutors have maintained the agreements did not violate court rules because they weren't required to share them. They also said the agreements were not made in exchange for testimony and they did not grant immunity to the school officials.

On Feb. 6, 2024, Crumbley was convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly Oxford school shooting that happened on Nov. 30, 2021. She became the first parent ever charged and convicted in connection with a school shooting. She was sentenced to 10-15 years in prison, the maximum for involuntary manslaughter in Michigan.

Her husband, James Crumbley, was also convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting and was also sentenced to 10-15 years in prison. He is also seeking a new trial.

Ethan Crumbley, James and Jennifer's son, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the deadly shooting that left four students dead and several others wounded. He recently asked for a new trial, but an Oakland County judge rejected that request, stating his "plea was knowingly, voluntarily, and accurately given."

The four children killed in the shooting were: Hana St. Juliana, 14; Justin Shilling, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Madisyn Baldwin, 16.

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