Jennifer Crumbley: Mother of Michigan shooter tells firefighter lover she ‘failed miserably’ as parent one day after school shooting
OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN: The mother of the Oxford school shooter, Ethan Crumbley, was engaged in an extramarital relationship with a married firefighter. Meanwhile, her son carried out a shooting, killing four students and classmates at his Michigan high school.
According to the Daily Mail, a previously undisclosed and recent development surfaced in court on Wednesday, January 31. Jennifer Crumbley and her husband James are currently facing trial for involuntary manslaughter related to the school shooting committed by their son in 2021.
'I failed as a parent'
During court proceedings, text messages were revealed where Jennifer Crumbley expressed to her lover, Brian Meloche, that she felt she "failed miserably" as a parent. She also criticized school officials for what she perceived as a failure to take action after her son drew violent images on his classwork.
"I failed as a parent, I failed miserably,” Crumbley messaged her lover just after midnight on December 1, 2021, one day after the shooting, according to the Detroit Free Press.
In response to Jennifer expressing her fears, Meloche, a fire department captain, assured her, "You didn’t do this." Jennifer shared her anxiety, and Meloche responded with understanding, stating, "I bet."
However, he also cautioned her, advising, “You literally need to disappear once you are free to do so.”
Later, Meloche issued a warning to Jennifer, advising her to be cautious about anything she types in Messenger or text, highlighting the involvement of the FBI and their ability to access all communication.
Jennifer wrote in one of the messages in the aftermath of the shooting in which her son killed four people, "I’ll never be OK. I lost my son. He’s a murderer. And I’ll forever have to live with that."
She added, "I’m not sure life is worth living anymore, I have nothing left to live for. He was it.”
Jennifer even took a dig at Ethan's school
In additional messages, Crumbley strongly criticized school officials for their handling of a meeting on the morning of November 30 regarding concerns about one of her son's drawings.
"They didn’t see him as a threat and decided he could stay in school, which is what he wanted to do," the mother tried to explain. “His f**king backpack was with him, why didn’t they search it?"
She also noted that “no officer was notified, and apparently there were threats, and no one, not even us was notified.”
However, Crumbley failed to disclose that she and her husband had chosen to return to work after the meeting. They had promised to seek help for their son within 48 hours, and notably, they did not bring their son home following the meeting.
Despite concerns about Ethan's mental state, school administrators have testified in court that they did not perceive him as a threat to the school.
Their judgment was that it would be more beneficial for him to stay at school rather than being taken home by his parents, especially considering the potential isolation he might experience at home.
As per the NY Post, both parents have since been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the deadly high school rampage, and both have pleaded not guilty.
