'Today was about victims': Prosecutor asks judge for maximum sentence for Oxford shooter
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Oxford High School shooter's final day in Judge Kwame Rowe's courtroom included gripping statements from victims and survivors of the Nov. 30, 2021 shooting.
Dozens of victims and survivors arrived in court to tell Judge Rowe why they agree that the shooter should never be even eligible to be free. Around 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, the shooter who terrorized the Oakland County school returned to court for his sentencing.
The final moments in court started with Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who laid out many things about the prosecution. But Friday was not about evidence or testimony. It was about the victims and survivors.
"Your Honor, today was about victims. Today, we learned their names, their faces, and we heard their voices. It's been two years. Two years. The statements made here today are just a small portion of the victims and their statements are only brief, but they reflect hundreds and hundreds of others," McDonald said.
She then went on to detail more of what Judge Rowe and others were not aware of – including how the families first learned of McDonald's plans to prosecute both the shooter.
"Steve St. Juliana did not tell you about getting a call from me on December 1st, telling him about the charges that were being issued for the murder of his daughter when he was still trying to process that she was gone," McDonald said. " Rob Baldwin father did not come here to tell you that. He also got that same call and told myself and Mark (Keast) that he had just been picking out a casket for his daughter and that, no matter what, what he cared about most and hoped most, was that Madisyn was not in fear when she was killed."
The shooting was more than the murder of four students and physical injuries of 11 others. McDonald said it went deep into the school and community.
"We have been poring over these images and pictures and evidence for two years. We have watched, listened, and provided support and communication the best we could to hundreds of these victims. The sheer force of the destruction, violence trauma and murder that the shooter caused that day did not stop at the doorway of Oxford High School. As you heard from so many students and parents. It was carried through the doors and out into the community to every pertinent person who witnessed it," McDonald said.
The prosecutor urged Rowe to sentence Crumbley to spend the rest of his life in prison.
"I ask that you sentence the defendant to life without parole," she said.
Judge Rowe will ultimately hand down his sentence later in the day on Friday.
The shooter admitted to the shooting in October 2022, when he pleaded guilty to murdering Hana St. Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17.
- Madisyn Baldwin's mom to Oxford shooter: ‘The suffering will come when he least expects it’
- Tate Myre's family speak during Oxford shooter's sentencing; 'My baby boy'
- 'Biggest coward in Michigan history': Justin Shilling's father wishes pain upon Oxford High School shooter
- Justin Shilling would have been Oxford shooter's friend if he had only asked, his mom says
But that wasn't the end. Instead, it initiated several more steps in the process, including a Miller Hearing, which is required by federal law.
Due to the shooter's age at the time of the crime, he was 15 at the time, he could be sentenced automatically to life in prison without parole. The Miller Hearing is a federal requirement to decide if life without parole sentences are appropriate for children.
The shooter pleaded guilty to four counts of murder, one count of terrorism, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony after the Nov. 30, 2021 shooting.