Stay up to date with notifications from TheĀ Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

A judge is set to hear the last day of testimony in the Oxford High School shooter's sentencing

A Michigan judge is expected to hear the third and final day of testimony Tuesday at a unique sentencing hearing for the Oxford High School shooter

Ed White
Tuesday 01 August 2023 06:05 BST

A Michigan judge is expected to hear the third and final day of testimony Tuesday at a sentencing hearing for the Oxford High School shooter, though an immediate decision is not anticipated.

Ethan Crumbley, 17, pleaded guilty to murder, terrorism and other charges in a mass shooting that killed four students and wounded seven others in 2021 at the school about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Detroit.

Because of his age — 15 at the time — an automatic life sentence would be unconstitutional. Oakland County Judge Kwame Rowe first must consider the shooter's mental health, unstable family life and other factors before deciding whether a life term would fit.

Crumbley otherwise would face a minimum sentence somewhere between 25 years and 40 years in prison, followed by eligibility for parole.

The shooter left behind a journal and text messages that were rife with dark writings, confusion and paranoia. Defense attorneys revealed messages last week that were sent to a friend months before the shooting.

Crumbley said he saw ghosts and was ā€œmentally and physically dying.ā€

ā€œI asked my dad to take me to the doctor yesterday," he said. "He gave me some pills and told me to suck it up.ā€

Prosecutors, meanwhile, said the teen also wrote multiple messages about drowning children and killing animals. On the eve of the shooting, he made a video explaining what he was about to do. The audio was played in court.

His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are separately charged with involuntary manslaughter. They’re accused of buying a gun for their son and ignoring his mental health needs.

Over objections from the defense, prosecutors called four people who witnessed the shooting, including a school staff member who was wounded. It was the first time their details were personally aired in court.

Assistant Principal Kristy Gibson-Marshall, who had a two-way radio that day, said she told others: ā€œI have eyes on the shooter.ā€

ā€œIt couldn't be Ethan. He wouldn't do that,ā€ Gibson-Marshall said, describing her disbelief at the time. "I thought there's no way it could be him.ā€

___

Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in