Ethan Crumbley’s mother, Jennifer, says she and firefighter Biran Meloche had trysts in a parking lot near her workplace once a week for around six months.
The mother of Michigan school shooter, Ethan Crumbley, took to the stand Thursday and spoke about the details of her romantic affair with a firefighter during her manslaughter trial.
Crumbley’s mother, Jennifer, says she and firefighter Biran Meloche had trysts in a parking lot near her workplace once a week for around six months.
She says the affair did not cause her to spend less time with her son or neglect him in any way.
“When I met with Brian it was in the mornings. On his way home from the station, he would pass my work and so at the time I was coming to work we would meet at the Costco parking lot and that was it. He would go about his day and I would go about mine,” Jennifer said in court.
Jennifer also said she went on business trips where she would stay overnight and Meloche would meet her where she stayed.
Meloche also testified about the affair. The pair are said to have bonded over their love of horses.
Prosecutors allege that Jennifer was so distracted by the affair that she neglected her son's downward spiral leading to the shooting.
“I'll never be ok. I lost my son. He's a murderer,” Jennifer texted Meloche following the massacre. “I failed as a parent. I failed miserably.”
One of the most stunning things that came out of the courtroom was the handwritten journal that the shooter had left on the scene.
“The shooting is tomorrow. So yeah... I'm going to prison for life and many people have about 1 day left to live,” the journal read.
The trial of Jennifer Crumbley and her husband, James, is believed to be one of the first examples of parents of a mass shooter being charged in connection to the crime. Both Jennifer and James have pleaded not guilty to four charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Jennifer testified that her son sometimes expressed anxiety, but she never though he needed to see a mental health professional.
