Defense rests in manslaughter trial of Michigan school shooter’s father James Crumbley after calling one witness

The prosecution and defense rested their cases Wednesday in the manslaughter trial of James Crumbley, the father of the teenager who fatally shot four students at his Michigan high school in 2021, in a case that comes a month after the shooter’s mother, Jennifer, was convicted of the same charges.

The prosecution and defense rested their cases Wednesday in the manslaughter trial of James Crumbley, the father of the teenager who fatally shot four students at his Michigan high school in 2021, in a case that comes a month after the shooter’s mother, Jennifer, was convicted of the same charges. Prosecutors, who called 15 witnesses over the past week, recalled one witness on Wednesday morning for brief testimony before resting. The defense then called one witness, James Crumbley’s sister Karen, who testified that she had spent several days with the Crumbley family in April and June 2021 and did not notice anything concerning. The defense then rested its case. With the jury out of the room, James Crumbley said he will not testify. “It is my decision to remain silent,” he said. Closing arguments are expected later Wednesday. The trial comes more than two years after Ethan Crumbley used a SIG Sauer 9mm weapon, which his father bought for him on Black Friday, to kill four students and wound six students and a teacher at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021.