Jury selection started Tuesday morning in the trial of James Crumbley, the father of the Oxford High School shooter, and his role in the deaths of four students in 2021, the Detroit News reports. James Crumbley, 47, is being tried on four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17. All four students were shot by Crumbley's son. Judge Cheryl Matthews said she was looking for “independent thinkers” who can be fair even if they’re aware of the conviction of James Crumbley's wife, Jennifer Crumbley.
Matthews said jurors have to be able to separate the emotions they feel while watching graphic videos and hearing testimony about the 2021 shooting from the elements of the case prosecutors have to prove: if James Crumbley was grossly negligent in parenting his son and allowing him to take the gun and shoot up his school. "Can you separate things that disturb you from the facts of the case and whether the evidence is proven beyond a reasonable doubt?" Matthews asked. None said that would be a problem. Crumbley's attorney, Mariell Lehman, asked a few potential jurors who said they owned guns about how they store those firearms and about the ages of their children.