142: Oxford Update (Ethan Crumbley)

Update on the Oxford High School Shooting, which took place on November 30, 2021, and saw Madisyn Baldwin, Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre and Justin Shilling murdered on campus by 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley.

Music:
Resonate Recordings

For sources, visit: https://murderousminors.onpodium.co/episodes/142-oxford-update-ethan-crumbley

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/murderous-minors--2964579/support.

Episode Transcript

(00:09):
Just so you know, this showis built scary stuff. So don't say
I didn't warn you. Guys.I remember, don't be scared. Episode

(00:42):
Oxford update. War Baby here withanother episode of Murderous Miners. Happy New
Year, Lovelies. This time onMurderous Miners will be updating the Oxford case.
November thirtieth marked two years since theOxford High School shooting in Auxford,
Michigan. Murdered that day were studentsHanna Saint Juliana, Justin Shilling, Tate

(01:04):
Mer, and Madison Baldwin in thehallways and in a boy's restroom between classes.
An additional six students and one teacherwere shot and survived. The now
seventeen year old alleged shooter was incourt in the fall of two thousand and
twenty two, where he changed hisplea if not guilty, to guilty on
all counts. His attorneys had previouslyfiled a notice of a potential insanity defense,

(01:30):
which they withdrew, choosing instead tosupport their client and pleading guilty,
with his attorneys saying that he wantedto accept accountability. There were no deals
made in conjunction with his plea agreement. Let's rewind to where we left off,
back to October twenty fourth, twothousand and twenty two, when he
entered a changed plea of guilty tothe terrorism charge, along with four counts

(01:55):
of first degree murder, seven countsof assault with intent to murder, and
twelve count of possessing a firearm inthe commission of a felony. Oakland County
Prosecutor Karen McDonald said at the timethat quote, we are not aware of
any other case anywhere in the countrywhere a mass shooter has been convicted of
terrorism on state charges. No onehas ever been convicted of similar charges under

(02:19):
these circumstances, an act of targetedviolence like this, adding that quote,
what about all the children who ranscreaming, hiding under desks. What about
all the children at home right nowwho can't eat and can't sleep, and
can't imagine a world where they couldever set foot back in that school.
Those are victims too, and soare their families, and so is the
community. And the charge of terrorismreflects that. With his guilty plea,

(02:45):
there were worries that questions could remainunanswered, but even without a criminal trial,
additional information was learned through the Millerand sentencing hearings, and more will
come to light from his parents trials, which were postponed and will begin in
January two thousand and twenty four.They were charged with four accounts of involuntary

(03:06):
manslaughter, and their cases have beenbouncing around from criminal court to the Court
of Appeals, all the way upto the State Supreme Court, and back
around again as their suns. Julytwenty seventh, two thousand and twenty three,
Miller hearing approached. He filed motionsto wear street clothes to the proceedings
and requested that witnesses to the shootingsbe barred from testifying. The defense claims

(03:30):
their testimony would be irrelevant since itis not a trial it is to determine
how he should be sentenced. Healso filed a motion to have the potential
for a life without parole sentence bedismissed. Answers were filed on July seventh,
two thousand and twenty three, However, they weren't made public at the

(03:50):
time. Once the Miller hearing began, we learned that Judge quame Rod denied
all the defense's requests. Gut wrenchingstatements were given before the court by some
who lived through the attack, includingOxford High Assistant Principal Christy Gibson Marshall,
who recalled trying to speak to theshooter as he walked past her with a
gun. Even as he did so, and even as she recognized him,

(04:14):
she couldn't comprehend that he was thecause of the mayhem. As the shooter
walked toward his apprehension by police,which was moments away, Gibson Marshall instead
turned her attention toward the injured studentshe saw lying face down behind a trash
can nearby. When she flipped theteen, she realized that it was sixteen
year old Tate Mir, a childfrom a family she'd known since he was

(04:38):
a toddler. Officers testified about theirheartbreaking responsibility of passing by wounded students as
they traversed the halls in search ofthe active shooter. An Oxford High School
ninth grader also testified, with thetalented swimmer detailing how he felt that Justin
Shilling saved his life before he waslured from the bathroom stall they were hiding

(05:01):
in and shot dead where he stood. Before Keegan could be shot next,
he bravely bolted from the room andfound safety, explaining to the packed court
room that quote, if he didn'tdie in there, then I'd be dead
right now. One of the aspectsof this shooter's behavior that prosecutors found specifically

(05:21):
heinous was that, unlike many manyother school shooters, this one purposely surrendered
himself alive. His plan was differentto Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said,
pointing out that he set out withquote a specific plan to survive so
they could see their victims suffering.Defense attorney Paulette Lofton countered the allegation by

(05:45):
the prosecution by placing blames squarely onthe shooter's negligent parents, saying that he
tried to get help but instead wasbought a handgun. Lofton claimed he's not
beyond rehabilitation and that kids like himhad been helped quote because most of them
get intervention. The Miller hearing beganon July twenty seventh, two thousand and

(06:08):
twenty three, and continued throughout August, with a hiatus of a few weeks
in between. An expert witness testified, doctor Colin King, who spent roughly
twenty two hours with the shooter inearly winter two thousand and twenty two.
He said that quote, Psychologically andsocially, he can be considered a feral

(06:29):
child, describing a feral child asisolated with misguided social instincts. Regarding the
shooter's home life, doctor King saidthat quote, there was constant family discord
and dysfunction. There was no indicationthat he was ever taken to a doctor.
There were frequent harsh discussions about infidelity, suicide, and which parent Ethan

(06:53):
needed to choose in the event thatthey separated. What stood out to me
was that he told his parents thathe was here voices and that he needed
to see a therapist, and itnever happened. Several videos were also shown
in court, with one ostensibly anattempt at showing the shooter had several instances

(07:14):
in his past that could have resultedin him sustaining a brain injury. The
video showed him losing the ability tocontrol his body and a diner, falling
and hitting his head to the tileand lying there while his parents told staff
not to call for help. Somethingsimilar had apparently happened in the past at
a strawberry patch, and he wasn'ttaken to the hospital. Then either another

(07:39):
video was shot the night before theshootings where Crumby tells the camera that I
am the Demon, and another wasofficer bodycam footage from jail that saw him
first being restrained by numerous officers,then next strapped to a chair wearing a
fabric spitguard that covered his entire head. Doctor King felt that these apisodes were

(08:00):
psychotic breaks as officers instructed him torelax, He spent several minutes in both
situations asking God aloud why he didn'tstop him from committing the shooting. Doctor
King contended that quote the entire courtroomwatched five videos of Ethan crumbly in psychosis.

(08:20):
But even though Judge Rose stated outrightthat quote Ethan is slowly coming to
grips with what he did, andhe is expressing extreme sorrow, and that
quote he is mentally ill but quoteabsolutely not irreparably corrupt, he ultimately determined
that the team could be sentenced tolife without the possibility of parole. His

(08:41):
parents have been in custody since theirarrests five days after the shooting, following
State Task Force intervention and after theyquote created an environment in which their son's
violent tendencies flourished. The state accusesthem of being grossly negligent in the care
of the show shooter, by,for example, not getting him mental health

(09:03):
treatment though he repeatedly asked, purchasingthe gun he used to murder and injure
others, and by not safely securingthat gun once it was in the home.
It's possible he'll be subpoena to testifyagainst his parents, something he'll have
to do because he can't invoke hisfitth Amendment right not to incriminate himself by
pleading guilty to his own charges.He has already incriminated himself. Their trial

(09:28):
was originally scheduled for October twenty fifth, twenty twenty two, as everyone was
hoping to get it done prior tothe one year mark. However, that
didn't happen. Since their arrests,they filed for a reduction in their bond
amounts of half a million dollars eachand have been denied each time, most
recently on October thirteenth, twenty twentytwo. They've also tried to have their

(09:50):
cases thrown out by both an appealscourt and by the Michigan Supreme Court,
saying that they weren't quote directly involvedto no avail. They were in court
only three days after their son pleadedguilty to all twenty four charges against him.
At in October twenty eight, twentytwenty twenty two hearing to determine which

(10:11):
expert witnesses will be allowed to testifyat their trial, the state called masks
shooting expert's criminologist Jillian Peterson and doctorDewey Cornell to the stand to highlight the
quote pathway to violence identified by theFBI that says that there are signs and
a quote set of behaviors generally presentthat could prevent it if people like parents

(10:35):
are paying attention. The Crumblies wererequesting that this pathway to violence testimony be
banned from their trial, saying thatit's unproven. In a blow to the
prosecution, it was subsequently determined thatthe pathway to violence testimony will not be
admissible at their trials. After allthat bouncing around between courts, it was

(10:56):
finally decided that enough evidence did exailsto send each of them to trial for
involuntary manslaughter. The couple turned codefendants officially severed all legal ties in November
two thousand and twenty three, whentheir motion for separate trials was granted.
However, it is yet to bedecided if those separate trials will take place

(11:18):
at the same time. Recently,on December twelfth, twenty and twenty three,
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge RYL.Matthews approved the exclusion of certain pieces
of evidence. They don't think isfair to them if the jury hears about
how messy their house was or thatthey cheated on each other. And they
also don't want the jury to knowthat they had alcohol and weed in the

(11:39):
house. Regarding their son, theydon't want the jury to hear about a
Nazi coin he had or about hisfake Instagram accounts at outrageous internet search history,
claiming that since they didn't know aboutthese things, they shouldn't be held
against them. His history of mutilatingbirds was also eventually excluded after the shooter's

(12:01):
mother filed emotion, claiming that quotethe shooter's bird evidence is irrelevant to whether
missus Crumbley committed involuntary manslaughter, especiallyconsidering there was no evidence to show she
was aware of the shooter's disgusting actswith birds. His intentions with the shooting
were clear he wanted to terrorize hispeers and community, writing in his journal

(12:26):
that he quote wished to hear thescreams of the children as he gunned them
down. He wanted them to suffer, knowing full well that he would quote
spend the rest of his life inprison, rotting away like a tomato.
His planning included extensive research on whathis sentence might be, because he wrote
several times in the journal that heknew he'd be in prison for the remainder

(12:48):
of his life. Fast forward twoyears later to the now seventeen year old
sentencing on December eighth, two thousandand twenty three, and he had different
things to say, telling the courtthat all he wants is for those he
hurt to feel like justice has beenserved. Addressing Judge Rowe, he said
that quote any sentence that they askfor, I ask that you do impose

(13:11):
it on me because I want themto be happy, and I want them
to feel secure and safe, andI do not want them to worry another
day. Several dozen victim impact statementswere presented in the hours before the official
sentence was imposed, with Madison Baldwin'sMother's saying in part that quote November thirtieth,

(13:33):
two than twenty one is a daythat has forever changed my life.
It burns into my body like acigarette, burn enough to scar, Always
a constant reminder the day I foundout that my daughter's life was taken,
a life that was so young andfull of life. After that day,
she became a statistic, a victim, a planned act of tragedy. To

(13:56):
the waste that took my daughter's life. That name will never come out of
my mouth. That life will ceaseto exist to me, and just like
trash, it will be forgotten.So while attention is what he was seeking
for this horrendous crime, you willget no reaction from me. But again,
this is the life he chose.If he really wanted to make a

(14:18):
different outcome, he wouldn't continue tomake the excuses he does now. The
suffering will come when he least expectsit. The regret will consume you as
you sit alone with only voices inyour head. Guilt will eat away at
your soul. This might not happentomorrow, next year, or in ten
years, but it will happen.As you get older, you'll realize the

(14:41):
path you've chosen, and it willhaunt you as I don't wish death upon
you. That would be too easy. I hope the thoughts consume you.
I hope the screams keep you upat night and they cause real hallucinations.
You won't be able to write iton paper for the attention that you so
bad seek. Tate's father vulnerably statedthat quote in life, sometimes what you

(15:05):
need is exactly what you fear.We fear forgiveness for your selfish acts.
So today we need to find away to start working our way to forgiveness.
Forgiveness to you, forgiveness to yourparents, forgiveness to the school.
What other options do we have?Be miserable for the rest of our lives

(15:26):
and rob our family of normalcy.Be miserable, and rob Trent and Tie
of a normal life filled with friends, their future, wife and kids.
Be miserable and rob Sherry and Ia happy life that we worked very hard
for and earned. Believe me,we will never forget about you ever.
We want you to spend the restof your life rotting in your cell.

(15:48):
What you stole from us is notreplaceable. But what we won't let you
steal from us is a life ofnormalcy. And we'll find a way to
get there through forgiveness and putting goodin this world. Brother Trent went next
wearing a T shirt bearing his youngestbrother Tate in his football uniform. While
facing off with the guy who murderedhim. He said, in part that

(16:10):
quote, I am asking that theshooter get the maximum penalty. This coward
took actions knowing the consequences and effectsit would have on people in this community.
He didn't care. He took theselfish action of taking four lives away.
He took four kids opportunities to growinto incredible young men and women,
and he should never have the opportunityto see the light. Justin Shillings father

(16:37):
said that quote, his very nameshould be condemned, recognized only by his
cowardly, vile, and malicious defianceof human law. I'd really like an
opportunity to physically show him how muchpain he has caused me in my family.
But in a civilized society governed bycomplex laws such as ours, this

(16:57):
type of display is not permitted.But you can rest assured you, piece
of shit, that baby Bird's screamswould pale in comparison to the screams that
you would exude if I were onlyable to show you, but luckily for
you, they won't let me.So I'll hope with every bit of hope
I have left that with every passingthought or memory that you have about what

(17:21):
you've done, you remember my statementand take time to imagine that happening and
recognize it in the worst way possiblein lieu of execution, I feel strongly
that the individual should never be allowedto walk among his peers again. That's
why I'm going to ask you tolock this son of a bitch up for
the rest of his pathetic life.His blatant lack of human decency and disturbing

(17:45):
thoughts on life in general do notin any way warren to second chance.
My son doesn't get a second chance, and neither should he. The family
of Hanna Saint Juliana, the youngestof the students killed, spoke ned next
with her father's stating that quote.There is absolutely nothing that the defendant can
ever do to earn my forgiveness.His age plays no part, His potential

(18:10):
is irrelevant. Ultimately, it isonly his choices and his actions that matter,
actions that have consequences that can neverbe undone. There is utterly nothing
that he could ever do to contributeto society to make up for the lives
that he is so ruthlessly taken.Hanna's sister read a statement from their mother
which said, in part quote,Hannah was always thinking about our family and

(18:34):
always extended those thoughts to everyone aroundher as well. She lifted all of
our spirits. She was going todress up, fall in love, go
on dates, go to college,get married, take a bunch of vacations,
eat a ton of good food.One day, live near me,
and I would watch her kids.She was always going to bring our family

(18:55):
together. On that day, notonly was my loving daughter's life taken,
but all of my family's future wastaken as well. Since that day,
all of our lives have drastically changed. Now. In my daily life,
whenever I see a pair of sisters, I'm sad. Every moment, every
day, every experience, I thinkof Hannah, and I'm sad every night.
I wish the morning wouldn't come.Every day I think about how nice

(19:19):
it would be if I could stoptime and stop thinking for us. Our
peaceful, happy days with Hannah willnever be again. She then read her
statement, saying in part that quote, Hannah is the one I went to
for the little things, the bigthings, and all the in betweens.
Hannah is my little sister. She'smy other half, my favorite person.

(19:41):
She completes me. And there's nota single soul I could love more than
Hannah. There's not a moment thatgoes by that I don't think about her.
The empty seed at the dining tableis the loudest silence I've ever heard.
Instead of speaking at her wedding,I spoke at her funeral. I
do not want to live without Hannah. She he brought out the best in
all of us, and brought outthe best in me. I'm sorry that

(20:03):
I could not make you feel evena fraction of the world without Hannah.
If I could, the shooter wouldbe dead. The creature who left Hannah
lying in her own pool of blood, crying in pain, who went to
go shoot her again, does notdeserve to take another breath. His parents
would never see the light of day, Oxford District employees would be held fully

(20:25):
accountable, and we would all beworking on a time machine. On a
strange side note, Jennifer Grumbly waspublicly named in a completely unrelated case when
nineteen year old Megan Amerowitz called herone of her best friends and credited her
with inspiring the letters she read incourt that she believes helped get her out

(20:47):
of jail. Megan and Mirowitz wasfreed from jail in July twenty twenty three
after spending seventeen months behind bars forkilling her father, sixty four year old
Conrad Ameirowitz, who died in Marchtwo thousand and twenty two. Prosecutors alleged
that on October first, two thousandand twenty one, as he lay on
the couch, the then seventeen yearold tossed lye in water on him,

(21:11):
leading to his death several months laterfrom complications from the attack, which included
the amputations of both feet and oneleg. The state alleged that the motive
was that Conrad was too drunk totake her to her hair appointment that was
for her eighteenth birthday party. Aneighbor found the man with substantial chemical burns

(21:32):
to nearly his entire body. Thedaughter and main suspect no longer at the
home. She denies the allegations.On July twenty sixth, two thousand and
twenty three, a Mirrowitz received asentence of one year in prison and five
years of probation. She was thenreleased with credit for time served, as

(21:52):
she had already spent over five hundreddays in jail. Everyone was shocked by
the light sentence, even Amerowitz herself, who told the media that quote,
I was definitely surprised. I thoughtI would get three or six years.
I was praying for a miracle today, and that's what happened. Her mother
had little faith in the investigation,and her siblings wrote letters to the judge

(22:15):
asking for leniency ahead of the sentencing. Their mother said following a Mirrowitz release
that a lot of information had beenleft out of the trial and had told
the judge that quote two plus twojust as not equal four. Losing Megan,
not being able to look her straightin the eye or to hug her
as a mother's nightmare. Megan triedmultiple times to reach out to her father

(22:38):
and was prevented. We were abroken family before this began, and now
we are even more broken. Whileher age and her body is nineteen years
old, her maturity and emotional levelare not that of an adult. Regarding
the letters she wrote and read ather sentencing, a Mirrowitz said that quote.
I have a best friend that injail, and she was with me

(23:00):
through this whole thing, and shehelped me with it. Jennifer Crumbly.
She just told me to speak withmy heart. She helped me write the
things out that I didn't know howto put into words. I guess she's
finally figured out how to pay attention. That's all for this episode. Be
back soon with an all new episode, and until then, Lovel's don't be scared.