On Thursday, courtroom attendees listened to diary entries and audio records from Ethan Crumbley, the Michigan teenager responsible for the fatal shooting of four students and injury of seven others at his high school in 2021. These were shared during the hearing to decide his sentence.
Crumbley confessed to his crimes in October 2022, pleading guilty to 24 charges, including four for first-degree murder. His victims were 16-year-old Tate Myre, 16-year-old Justin Shilling, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, all students at Oxford High School. The incident took place on Nov. 30, 2021.
"I am going to be the next school shooter," Crumbley voiced in a 20-minute audio clip played in the Oakland County court.
During the majority of Thursday's proceedings, Crumbley kept his head low. The evidence is being considered by Judge Kwame Rowe of Oakland County to aid in his decision on whether Crumbley should face a life sentence without parole.
In a disturbing excerpt, Crumbley wrote, "The first victim has to be a pretty girl so she can suffer just like me."
He self-identified as "evil" and aspired for notoriety for his crimes in his writings found by investigators. One journal entry revealed his wish to "hear the screams of the children as I shoot them". His writings further expressed his intention to drown children and throw a child "off a cliff."
As per Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald, the 17-year-old Crumbley did not anticipate committing suicide-by-cop following the Oxford High School shooting, as he aimed to "witness the suffering he created".
Crumbley referred to himself as a "demon" in one of the recordings and stated his understanding if he were incarcerated for his crimes. He also shared his views on the meaninglessness of school, college, work, and life in general, claiming the U.S. education system was "brainwashing" the working class. Crumbley's notes also suggested that he anticipated a life sentence.
"I'm going to spend the rest of my life in prison rotting like a tomato," he penned.
Crumbley's parents, James and Jennifer, are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter after they allegedly purchased the gun used in the crime as a Christmas present for their son.
The prosecution is advocating for a life sentence without parole for Crumbley, citing the unique nature of his crime in terms of its premeditation, execution, and resulting fatalities. McDonald emphasized that video footage showed Crumbley shooting his victims "at point-blank range" in the school corridors.
Crumbley's notes cited his parents' neglect as a contributing factor to his depression. He had reportedly been "begging" his father for a 9mm.
McDonald pointed out that although Crumbley was the one who actually fired the gun, his parents' negligence in buying their "obviously troubled son" a firearm and their failure to securely store it or act upon seeing his violent drawings, contributed to the tragic incident. Their charges are not for being inadequate parents.
School officials reportedly held a meeting with Ethan and his parents to discuss disturbing drawings he created just hours before the deadly attack. The suspect managed to persuade them that the drawings were related to a "video game". His parents supposedly "flatly refused" to take their son home following the meeting, according to McDonald.
After his parents departed, Ethan executed the shooting.
Defending Crumbley, attorney Paulette Loftin contended that evidence would reveal that "15-year-old Ethan Crumbley is not one of those rare juveniles that is irreparably corrupt and without the ability to be rehabilitated."
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