Oxford School Shooter Loses Bid For New Trial

PONTIAC, MI — An Oakland County judge on Thursday rejected Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley's request to withdraw his guilty plea and motion for a new trial, according to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.

"The Court finds that Defendant’s plea was knowingly, voluntarily, and accurately given and there was no defect in the plea-taking process," Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwamé Rowe said in the ruling.

Crumbley was seeking a new trial with witnesses who will testify to his declining mental health state and deteriorating home life before the shooting in hopes of a lesser sentence. He also believed that his life sentence was invalid because of his mother's alcohol abuse during pregnancy and the potential impact of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder on his life.

Rowe disagreed and said Crumbley's life sentence without parole is constitutional and proportionate to the seriousness of the offense and the offender.

"These are the right decisions under the law, and they allow us to continue doing the most important things - focusing on the victims and their families, and on preventing future shootings," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

Ethan, who was then 15 at the time of the shooting, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to fatally shooting four students and wounding seven other people at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021.

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

Ethan was initially placed in the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer County, but has since been moved to the Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee, which is roughly 60 miles southwest of Traverse City.

Ethan's parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, were each found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting after prosecutors said they ignored disturbing warning signs from their son leading up to the deadly shooting. They were sentenced to 10-15 years in prison.

Jennifer Crumbley has asked an Oakland County judge to toss her conviction and grant her an either an acquittal or a new trial. She argues that she was not given a fair trial because prosecutors did not share proffer agreements they signed with school officials for their testimony at her trial, jury rules that indicated she could be found guilty on two theories (failed to perform a legal duty in patenting or gross negligence) and because she had an ineffective lawyer.