Jennifer Crumbley described herself as a hyper-vigilant mom but prosecutors said she was too involved with her personal life to realize her son was having a mental breakdown.
Prosecutors in the trial of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley’s mother claimed in court Friday that she ignored her son’s mental health while she and her firefighter lover invited strangers to hotel sex parties.
During cross-examination, Crumbley’s mother, Jennifer Crumbley, admitted to using an online swingers site called Adult Friend Finder to meet people for extramarital affairs.
“You can go on and meet people who meet certain tastes that you’re looking for,” Jennifer Crumbley said in court.
Jennifer Crumbley said she did not believe she had the app on her phone. When the prosecutor said the app was found on her phone, Jennifer Crumbley responded, “Then I guess it was on my phone.”
The defense objected, but the prosecutor was allowed to continue.
Jennifer Crumbley, who has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, admitted Thursday to having a six-month affair with firefighter Brian Meloche.
The 45-year-old admitted to sending photographs to Meloche, some of which included other people.
She described herself as a hyper-vigilant mom but prosecutors claim she was too involved with her personal life to realize her son was having a mental breakdown.
She also admitted to using the swingers site two days before the school shooting at Oxford High School outside Detroit in 2021.
“I only met with Brian during work hours, the times that we were at the hotel I was on business we did arrange for other people to meet us there,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
Jennifer Crumbley was shown images her son drew at school on the day of the shooting. He drew a gun, a wounded figure, and wrote, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me. Blood everywhere.”
The mother was asked why she agreed to give a gun to her teenage son who was having emotional issues.
“It was for him to use at the shooting range. We didn’t just hand him a gun, as in, ‘Here you go son.’ It was something he could use and we went to the range as a family together,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
Some of the parents of the four students Ethan Crumbley killed were among those in court Friday. Jennifer claims she never thought her son needed to see a mental health professional.
