Oakland County prosecutors to address alleged threats by James Crumbley in sentencing

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald's office said Wednesday it plans to address alleged threats made by James Crumbley, the father of the 2021 Oxford High School mass shooter, to McDonald in a sentencing memo for his recent manslaughter convictions.

A jury convicted Crumbley on March 14 of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the four students killed by his son on Nov. 30, 2021: Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre and Justin Shilling. Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer, have remained in custody since their arrest a few days after the shooting and their subsequent convictions.

McDonald tried the separate cases of James and Jennifer along with Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast. Her office has not released specific details of the alleged threats, but said in a statement Wednesday the Oakland County Sheriff's Office is still investigating.

"To be clear, those threats were directly addressed to the prosecutor by name, telling her what was going to happen to her when he is released. Those threats are serious, and they also reflect a lack of remorse and a continued refusal to take accountability for his part in the deaths of Hana, Madisyn, Tate, and Justin," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

McDonald's office said prosecutors plan to address the alleged threats in a sentencing memo to Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews, who has scheduled James Crumbley's sentencing for the manslaughter convictions for April 9.

James Crumbley's defense attorney, Mariell Lehman, did not immediately return a message Wednesday seeking comment.

The Detroit News has sought records of James Crumbley's communications from jail from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, which has denied the request. The News has submitted an appeal of the denial.

Prosecutors first made a vague allusion to the alleged threats one afternoon during Crumbley's trial after the jury left for the day. Crumbley agreed to have his communication privileges revoked, except his ability to communicate with his attorney and clergy members, in order to avoid having the matter discussed on the record in court.

McDonald's office also released copies of proffer agreements dated in 2021 and 2022 provided to Shawn Hopkins and Nick Ejak, the Oxford shooter's counselor and the school's former dean of students, respectively, in light of public speculation about whether any school officials would face criminal charges in connection with the shooting. McDonald has not found sufficient evidence to charge anyone at the school, her office said.

Hopkins and Ejak gave testimony in the Crumbley parents' trials about information they received about concerning behavior by the shooter, including a violent drawing of a shooting he made on a worksheet the morning of Nov. 30.

McDonald's office said the proffer agreements didn't make any promises to Ejak or Hopkins of leniency or immunity from prosecution in exchange for meeting with prosecutors, but that their statements wouldn't be used to criminally charge them.

jcardi@detroitnews.com