(WXYZ) — A jury has been seated after a second day of selection in the trial for Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter.
Jennifer and her husband, James, are each facing four charges of involuntary manslaughter. The shooting in November 2021 killed four students and injured seven others – six students and a teacher.
Opening statements are now expected to begin Thursday, and cameras will be allowed in the court room. WXYZ plans to live-stream the trial. There are 12 jurors and five alternates – 10 women and seven men.
In a second day of questioning from attorneys, jurors were asked about their personal views on guns, parenting, social media and media coverage.
Several were dismissed for telling the court they either had health issues, pre-paid travel or were unable to set aside their personal biases and limit decisions to evidence presented in court.
“Without accountability you aren’t going to force any kind of change," Steve St. Juliana said. He's the father of 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana who was one of the four students killed.
As the trial moves forward, jurors have been told to avoid watching news reports, going on social media and discussing the case with anyone.
On Wednesday, multiple prospective jurors admitted the tragedy that took lives of Hana, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre and Justin Shilling has weighed heavily on them as parents.
Prosecutors say the rampage could have been prevented by the Crumbleys. They plan to show video footage from inside the school and inside a gun range, including the purchase of ammunition.
Also to be presented are Jennifer's phone records and social media information.
Prosecutors allege gross negligence in allowing the shooter to gain access to a gun and ignoring cries for help making the tragedy foreseeable.
A gag order remains, preventing attorneys on both sides from speaking with media.
The shooter, who pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison, has also not asked to testify against his parents, despite a motion requesting he be ordered to.
The trial for James is expected to begin on March 5.
Updates from Tuesday and Wednesday below
2:43 p.m. A jury has been seated in the trial for Jennifer Crumbley. There are 17 jurors total – 12 jurors and five alternates. It's expected that her trial will begin on Thursday with opening statements from the prosecution and the defense.
12:37 p.m. They are now on break for lunch.
Noon They've finished dismissals for cause, but now they are doing dismissals without cause. The prosecutor dismissed one teacher. Each side gets five.
11:52 a.m. A juror was replaced that had a relative directly related to a victim of the Oxford High School shooting. The new potential juror is a parole officer.
11:18 a.m. The prosecution doesn't want anyone dismissed. Defense has asked to dismiss two more jurors who had very strong views on the shooting or about guns. The selection process is still ongoing.
9:39 a.m. Two jurors who didn't show up today could possibly have a bench warrant issued for thier arrest.
9:17 a.m. Two jurors have been dismissed. One for being sick and the other because of a language barrier.
Tuesday's updates:
4:45 p.m. Court wrapped up for the day around 4:30 p.m. No jurors have been picked yet. The selection process will continue on Wednesday.
3:56 p.m. They have started back up. Attorneys are now being allowed to ask questions of the potential jurors.
3:30 p.m. They are currently taking a break.
3:28 p.m. A potential juror said his ex-wife and best friend shot themselves. He is a doctor at a local urgent care and a gun owner.
3:20 p.m. Another teacher is among the jurors being considered.
3 p.m. Two potential jurors have revealed that they have been held up at gunpoint in the past.
2:52 p.m. Potential jurors are now being asked if they had an Oxford Strong sign or if they had contributed to a GoFundMe account.
2:49 p.m. Another potential juror was dismissed after expressing strong views on guns.
2:44 p.m. Potential jurors were asked if they own a gun. Several hands went up. One of the jurors, who had strong views on guns, was dismissed.
2:34 p.m. Potential jurors are being asked if anyone has a friend or family member who is a police officer and if it keeps them from believing or not believing an officer.
2:30 p.m. Potential jurors include parents, a parking ticket citation worker, a local cook, a veterinarian oncologist, a pharmacist, a teacher, and an engineer, just to name a few.
12:52 p.m. They have called a lunch break.
12:34 p.m. The judge is introducing the attorneys and a potential witness list, which includes law enforcement, counselors, coaches, James Crumbley, Karen Crumbley, and Dr. Collin King among others.
12:29 p.m. Instructions are being delivered to the potential jurors. The potential jurors are told not to watch news reports and to avoid social media.
11:44 a.m. Twelve potential jurors have been excused.
9:40 a.m. They are currently on a break.
9:22 a.m. The process just paused to allow jurors more time to arrive to court. They have 1,000 people on standby if they don't seat a jury by Thursday.
9:11 a.m. The jury selection process has begun. There's a questionnaire that's being given out to potential jurors that asks if they feel they can be fair and impartial despite the coverage. Fifty jurors will be brought up to start before the process of elimination begins. About 300 jurors are expected to make up the original pool, for the first round of consideration.
Background:
As the Oxford High School shooter is in prison serving life without parole, two separate trials against his parents will take center stage.
In the tragic event in November of 2021, four students were shot and killed and others were injured.
The beginning of jury selection for the trial of Jennifer Crumbley started on Tuesday. The mother of the Oxford shooter is being tried separately from her husband for involuntary manslaughter.
“The second layer of accountability is absolutely 100% the parents — what they didn’t do leading up to the shooting or day of the shooting, how they didn’t support their son or seek mental health treatment for their son,” parent Linda Watson said.
Her son was shot by the gunman and survived.
Prosecutors say the entire tragedy could have been avoided if the parents didn’t buy the gun.
“Parents do need to be responsible for their children and do need to act and come before their children when there are so many signs leading up to this,” Watson said.
In this case, prosecutors must prove gross negligence, and the fact the shooter’s cries for help made the tragedy foreseeable.
“It’s all about the facts. There are questions that still need answers. We’re over two years without those answers,” Watson said.
Legal experts nationwide are expected to watch the trials closely, as they’re likely to have far-reaching implications for how future school shooter cases are handled by prosecutors.
For Watson, there are large implications as well.
“I hope this case is precedent setting. Perhaps, that will go a small way or big way into preventing something like this,” she said.
As the case moved forward, both sides remain bound by a gag order.
“Getting justice is so needed for all of us. This is huge. The damage the shooter and his family did to families of Oxford — four families and those injured, 1,800 students and their families, teachers and administrators. I don’t think people fully understand.” says Watson.
Families plan to keep close watch on this trial and the trial of James Crumbley beginning March 5.
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