- Jennifer and James Crumbley both face involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the Oxford High School shooting.
- Jennifer Crumbley's coworker testified that Crumbley and her husband were both "seeing other people" in 2021.
- Amanda Holland testified that Jennifer Crumbley would sneak away from work to see "a person" in a Costco parking lot.
A coworker of Jennifer Crumbley said that Crumbley was seeing someone outside of her marriage throughout 2021 and would sneak away from work to be with her extramarital partner at a court hearing on Tuesday.
Jennifer and James Crumbley both face involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the Oxford High School shooting last November that left 4 students dead. The Crumbleys are accused of making a firearm too easy for their son, who is accused to carrying out the attack, to access and ignoring warning signs that he was depressed.
Both parents face up to 60 years in prison and $30,000 in fines if convicted.
At a preliminary hearing for the couple's manslaughter trial on Tuesday, one of Jennifer Crumbley's coworker testified that both parents were "seeing other people" throughout 2021.
Amanda Holland said in Michigan's 52nd District Court that Jennifer Crumbley was in an extramarital relationship throughout 2021 but couldn't remember specifically when the affair took place. She said that Jennifer would often sneak away from work to go see a "person" in the parking lot of a Costco.
Holland said in court that the Crumbleys separated at some point during 2021, but continued living in the same house. Holland testified that the Crumbleys resolved their marital issues around the time of their anniversary, but again could not remember the specific date.
A defense attorney for Jennifer Crumbley objected to prosecutors asking questions about the couple's extramarital affairs, saying it was irrelevant. The prosecution argued that the information was relevant because the Crumbley's had a "duty" to protect their community from their son and "what they exposed their son to" should be relevant.
Judge Julie Nicholson overruled the objection, though she said "whether or not there was some type of extramarital relationship between the parties and a duty to the community, I don't know that that is intertwined."
Holland testified that Crumbley returned to work on November 30, 2021 from her son's school and told her that the school was requiring her to put her son in counseling. According to Holland, Jennifer Crumbley showed her a math worksheet that her son completed earlier in the day where wrote that his life felt useless and "The thoughts won't stop. Help me."
Holland testified that she found the worksheet "disturbing."
Jennifer told Holland that she felt like a "failure as a parent" after her meeting with the school, but Holland said her tone seemed "sarcastic." Holland testified that she recommended that Jennifer go pick her son up from school to "spend some time with him."
According to Holland, Jennifer told her that she was planning to take her son to a horse barn where her family keep their horses after school. Kira Pennock, who works at the horse barn, previously testified and said that Jennifer was planning to bring her son by on November 30 for riding lessons.
On cross-examination, defense attorneys got Holland to admit that she didn't know much about the Crumbleys son and didn't know that he was involved in extra-curricular activities and was working on becoming a soccer referee.
Shannon Smith, a defense attorney for Jennifer Crumbley, also asked Holland if she was aware that the school told Crumbley that her son was "not a threat to anyone" on November 30, 2021, to which she replied "no."