Jennifer Crumbley takes the stand on Day 6 of her involuntary manslaughter trial

PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - Jennifer Crumbley took the stand on the sixth day of her trial and answered questions from her defense attorney about messages on her phone, her feelings about her work as a parent, and her state of mind throughout the year of 2021 and the moments leading up to the shooting, as well as her actions in the days before they were arrested.

Court will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. Check out the recap from today's dramatic testimony here. 

4:28 p.m. - Judge sends jury home for the day

4:22 p.m. - Crumbleys "didn't feel safe" turning self in

Jennifer Crumbley testified that both she and James Crumbley had planned to turn themselves in to the police the next day. They hadn't gone to the police earlier because they were worried about their safety, Jennifer testified. 

"Just the fact that the entire community and Michigan knew that we were expected to turn ourselves in at the police department so they would know where to go," she said. 

She also testified that her friend had purchased supplies for them while they stayed the night at an art studio in the industrial park. She testified that both her and James took four xanax before going to bed. 

She said that her purse and other supplies were in large plastic totes as a caution. 

4:04 p.m. - Jennifer on deleting messages:"I've always done that"

Jennifer Crumbley said she has always deleted messages from her phone. Forensic analysis of her phone found that many of the messages deleted on her phone regarded the shooting. 

She testified that she's always been in the habit of deleting threads of messages from people contacting her on Facebook Marketplace. 

3:55 p.m. - Jennifer Crumbley returns to the stand

The defense is asking the defendant about where she went after her meeting with the school counselor on the day of the shooting.  

When she heard reports of an active shooter at her son's high school, she left work and joined the caravan of police cruisers traveling to Oxford.  

Jennifer Crumbley said "I didn't imagine my son going to a school and shooting" after she got a call from James Crumbley that the firearm had been taken from its safe. Her next thought was that he was going to kill himself, she testified, saying that's why she texted her son "don't do it."

When she was close to her home, she got a call from James Crumbley that police had asked them to come down to the police substation. 

Video of the interview showed her on her phone during much of the interview. She testified she was looking for an image of the math assignment on her phone and began scrolling through messages. She described her mind as "pretty numb."

2:53 p.m. - Judge calls short break

2:45 p.m. - Jennifer "felt concerned" after seeing math assignment

The defendant told the jury when she saw the math assignment that the shooter had scribbled on. The two had gotten into an argument the night before about bad grades in the class, Jennifer Crumbley testified, and when she got a phone call about the images, she felt angry. 

"I took it personally," she said, saying she believed her son had done it "in defiance" of her being upset with him. 

"I thought he was going to get in trouble, I thought he was going to get like suspended - I was expecting a disciplinary hearing," she testified. She also said after seeing the drawing, she said "I felt concerned after seeing that."

2:20 p.m. - Jennifer testifies about son seeing ‘demons’

At one point in 2021, the shooter texted his mom about a ghost being in the house. 

Discussions about a ghost being in the family's home came up because the shooter and his friend liked to use a Ouija Board. Jennifer Crumbely testified she played a prank on them by turning off the circuit breaker. James Crumbley also liked to play pranks about ghosts.

She testified that when her son started texting her about a demon being in the house, she thought he was playing a prank. Jennifer Crumbley concluded that the shooter wasn't having mental issues. 

There were other texts about the shooter hearing the toilet flush and asking when his mom was going to come home. 

"I just think he was messing with us," she said. 

Jennifer Crumbley also denied laughing when her son asked for help about going to the doctor. Her son had texted his friend about asking his dad to go to the doctor and instead James Crumbley only gave him medication.

2:14 p.m. - Jennifer is contacted by the school

A voicemail was left on Jennifer Crumbley's phone after a teacher caught her son looking up disturbing images in class.

"I received the voicemail on my phone while I was at work, it was Pam Fine. The school, one of the school counselors called and let me know that my son was looking up bullets in class. She let us know, let me know that they had a meeting with my son and that he so what he was doing was wrong. He admitted responsibility," she said.

She never called back because it was pretty "black and white" as to what happened and what teachers saw. "I mean, they saw what happened? They seem like they saw the problem, and I didn't have any questions," she said.

While information between school officials was being passed around about the shooter's behavior in class and some answers he'd given on assignments, Jennifer Crumbley testified she was never contacted about the issues. 

"I'd be definitely concerned why he feels like his family's mistake, and he feels terrible. So that would be a concern to me," she said.

2 p.m. - Jennifer testifies about the firearm purchase

Jennifer Crumbley testified that she didn't deal with guns most of the time and that she let her husband handle them. He was responsible for storing the firearms in the house. 

She also answered questions about how the firearm that was used in the shooting was secured in the home. 

"So everything went like the cable lock and the other case went somewhere. The nine millimeter was in a case, but it was locked in. It was in the case locked with a cable lock," she testified. The key that unlocked the cable lock was kept in a large glass mug. She also testified that she didn't believe her son knew where the key was kept.  

She also said the gun purchased for her son was meant only to be used at a shooting range. Her son wasn't allowed to take it out of the case without James Crumbley around. She testified her son didn't know how it was stored. 

"My husband hid it usually in our bedroom in different spots," she said.

The two had gone to a shooting range after purchasing the firearm when the shooter had asked his mom to go. She testified she wasn't interested in shooting ranges as much as skeet shooting. She said James Crumbley had gotten the firearm prepared for her before they went to the range. 

"I felt I mean, it was it was a fun day. He asked me if I wanted to go to the shooting range with him, and he's never asked me. Just me to go before my husband was doing DoorDash. And I felt good about it," she said. 

"I put the gun in the back of my vehicle and drove. Explain where in the background. So I in the back of the SUV, it has a little thing that opens up where the spare tire is. I put it under there," she then said.

1:38 p.m. Photos from Facebook

Evidence shown to the jury of photos from Jennifer Crumbley's Facebook showed vacations and trips the family had taken. 

She testified that it got harder to take pictures of her son because he didn't want his photo taken, when asked to explain why more photos of horses appear than of her son on her Facebook in 2021. 

Some of the photos include the shooter with a family pet. Jennifer Crumbley testified that when she asked her son "why?" at the Pontiac substation directly after the shooting, he told her to "take care of Dexter for me," referring to the kitten. 

"He's very sarcastic, and I found it funny, and I posted it," she testified to one photo she put up of a text exchange between the two. The defense has previously described the defendant as having a sarcastic personality. 

The final photo revealed in court from Jennifer's Facebook page included the three of them looking for a Christmas tree. It was posted on Nov. 26, 2021 - four days before the shooting. She later testified that nothing seemed wrong with her son on the day after Thanksgiving. 

1:20 p.m. Jennifer Crumbley didn't think son needed mental health help

Jennifer Crumbley testified that her son never asked her for a therapist or for help for his mental health. 

She said her son sometimes had anxiety about his future or about taking a test in school. She said one time she called a counselor at the school to go through some future planning. "It was more addressing what was upsetting my son at the time."

"The fact that he didn't know what he wanted to do. His grades weren't that great. So he was stressed out about getting into college. He just he was just having a hard time with his future goals," she testified.

She also said up until October 2021, her son was on James Crumbley's health insurance before he lost his job. She testified she planned to add him and her husband to her health insurance at the end of the open enrollment period.  

1 p.m. - Jennifer Crumbley takes the stand

Jennifer Crumbley took the stand in her involuntary manslaughter trial on Thursday. She is the defense's first witness in the trial. 

The first questions she asked were about her life at home, where she said she was the provider for the family after her husband had a hard time holding a job when his mom died.

She also described some of the hobbies her son had, including bowling and metal detecting. Jennifer Crumbley testified she liked skiing, a hobby she did with her son when she spent time with him. They also played board games and video games together.  

Defense then asked questions about Crumbley's affair. She said she met up with Brian Meloche, a longtime friend, about once a week. She testified she lied to her husband during the affair. She also testified that the affair didn't prevent her from parenting her son. 

She next testified about the rare visits she made to the school for disciplinary issues. When issues came up "it was a lot when it happened." She answered questions about the state of her house that the jury saw during the trial, which saw various messes throughout. She said it was embarrassing for everyone to see. 

She then testified about her son's friendship with another boy. The shooter's friend would walk home from school together and spend lots of time with each other outside of class swimming, shooting BB guns, and play video games. Jennifer Crumbley said her son's friend moving away was surprising. 

She later testified that she thought "we were pretty close" when talking about herself and her son. "I trusted him and I felt like I had an open door and he could come to me about anything. I felt like the three of us were really close."

Jennifer Crumbley said she didn't read her son's text messages. She testified about times she took away his phone as a punishment for missing assignments and bad grades. 

12:45 p.m. - Brief cross-examination before prosecution rests case

Willis is still on the stand as a witness while the defense asks more questions about his activities the day he secured a warrant for Jennifer Crumbley's arrest. He testified that there were multiple ways for someone to come into police custody after a warrant is issued for their arrest.

Jennifer Crumbley had until 4 p.m. to turn herself into police after charges were announced on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. 

The prosecution asked one follow-up question before finishing the cross-examination of Willis, asking him how close the hotel the couple were staying at in Auburn Hills was to the local police station. He said it was nearby. 

The prosecution rested its case after that. 

11:40 a.m. - Judge calls lunch break

11:28 a.m. - Judge returns after recess

10:34 a.m. - Defense begins cross-examination

The defense began questions by asking if Willis was aware if the parents ever saw the shooter's journal or its contents. He testified he did not have evidence that the parents saw the journal. 

The judge called a short break for the jury, so the prosecution could discuss a prior ruling that excluded the bulk of the shooter's journal from evidence. The defense's questions were starting to get near pages of the journal that weren't going to be discussed. 

10:07 a.m. - Jury returns after short break

The next video played for the jury was Jennifer and James Crumbley in the back of the cop car after the shooting. They were detained around 2:49 p.m. on Nov. 30 after being interviewed at the substation where they met the shooter for the first time.

Jennifer Crumbley was in handcuffs at the time of the arrest. 

The next round of testimony from Willis is about the sheriff's search for the Crumbley parents after his team learned of the charges being announced by the prosecutor. Shown to the jury was a receipt for the purchase of a Trac phone as well as a hotel stay. 

The investigation later revealed they stayed at an Extended Stay America suite in Auburn Hills. They checked in on Dec. 1 and checked out on Dec. 3. A vehicle owned by them was later found in the parking lot of the hotel. 

There were also multiple cash withdrawals for thousands of dollars by the Crumbley parents. They pulled out $2,000 from banks twice on Dec. 2. They later took out $4,000 on Dec. 3, according to bank records shown to the jury.

Another exhibit shows they took out $3,000 from their son's account on the day of the shooting. Only $0.99 was left. The prosecution then showed video of James and Jennifer Crumbley arriving at the industrial park at 1111 Bellevue St.  

9:30 a.m. - Surveillance video of the school

The prosecution then showed surveillance video of the school during Willis' testimony. It included video of the shooting. 

A lot of emotions in the courtroom during that video, which led to a short break in the trial. 

8:56 a.m. - Jury seated and prosecution calls first witness

Lt. Timothy Willis works in the Oakland County Sheriff's office and oversees the Special Investigations Unit and the Forensic Services Division. He was meeting with the prosecutor's office for a different case when reports of the shooting came into the office.

Willis was the officer in charge of the investigative portion of the shooting case. He also testified to the autopsy reports of the four victims that are deceased in the case, with the prosecution asking him about the cause of the death. 

He was then asked about how he directed the investigation. A special agent with the ATF offered to track down the weapon's owner while Willis told detectives from the Pontiac substation to go and secure the shooter's home. 

A sheriff's captain also contacted the bomb squad from Michigan State Police. Willis testified a K-9 unit detected "some sort of explosive" within the shooter's backpack that was found in the bathroom. They used a robot to later determine that it was safe. 

Investigators briefly looked online for evidence of the shooter and found a video of a molotoov cocktail. 

Many of the school assignments that were found in the backpack included over 50 drawings of weapons. Willis, who read the entire journal, said only 22 pages had writing on them, with the vast majority referencing the school shooting. 

In the journal, it includes several disturbing statements about his mental state at the time: 

• "I have zero help for my mental problems and it's causing me to shoot up the F*cking school"
• "I want help but my parents won't listen to me and I can't get help."
• "My parents won't listen to me about help or a therapist"
• "I want to shoot up the f*cking school so badly. Soon I am going to buy a 9mm pistol"

Trial coverage so far

The man Jennifer had an affair with, Brian Meloche, testified Wednesday.

Meloche and Jennifer exchanged text messages the week of the shooting and most of his testimony evolved around that.

However, when the defense had a chance to cross-examine Meloche, attorney Shannon Smith questioned Meloche's story, which she intimated had changed over three different interviews with police. 

"They have started to talk to you about things like your job and your benefits," Smith said. "And they have said things to you like if you're helping Jennifer Crumbly, you could lose your job as a firefighter, correct?"

Meloche confirmed it and Smith continued and asked if he believed he would get in trouble for helping Jennifer.

This brought an objection from the Oakland County Prosecutor, saying that Smith was about to take the witness into information that had been barred from the trial. The prosecution argued that Smith was opening the door for evidence that hadn't been allowed in.

"At this point, her life is more important than her dignity in terms of…she had an affair. Lots of people have affairs. I mean, that's the bottom line. At the end of the day, it doesn't mean, you know, your kid's a school shooter," Smith said.

Other evidence Wednesday included testimony from the witness who spotted the Crumbley's vehicle in Detroit and body camera footage of police arresting Jennifer and her husband James. Both parents had been charged with involuntary manslaughter earlier that day.

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