By Don Rush

After about seven hours of testimony and cross examination of the defense attorney’s expert witness last Tuesday, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwame Rowe told all in his court the Miller Hearing for confessed mass shooter Ethan Crumbley will continue on Aug. 18, starting at 9 a.m.

Last Tuesday’s hearing was the third day of court proceedings on whether the shooter will receive life in prison without parole or, because he was only 15 when he murdered four classmates, Madisyn Baldwin, Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre and Justin Shilling and injuring seven more during his shooting spree, he should he face a minimum prison sentence between 25 years and 40 years, followed by eligibility for parole. His maximum term would be 60 years. He pleaded guilty to the shootings this past October. After all testimony is completed, Judge Rowe will make that decision.

Last Tuesday, the defense presented psychologist Dr. Colin King to make their case that the shooter should not receive life in prison. Dr. King said after meeting with the shooter six times, two virtually and four in person, he concluded the defendant has major depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders. “He is mentally ill,” Dr. King said.

When asked by both the defense and prosecution attorneys if he thought the defendant could be “rehabilitated,” Dr. King answered, “Yes, I do.”

During his testimony, Dr. King said the shooter had two episodes where he had received blows to the head and blacked out, stating he believed these incidents caused brain damage. “There was no evidence of his parents taking him to the doctors after,” he said. He showed Judge Rowe how soft the brain is by dropping an egg into a glass bowl from about two feet.

He said his diagnosis was based on the interviews and a battery of about a dozen different tests for such items as depression, anxiety, IQ and psychoses.

At one point during his testimony, the defense played videos of the shooter breaking down in jail, sobbing over and over, “I sorry God, I’m sorry . . . Why didn’t you stop it? Stop it, God, why?”

Dr. King stated the video shows the shooter’s break from reality.

King said the shooter was basically abandoned by his parents as a child, arresting his mental development.

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The shooter’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley are also both in Oakland County jail awaiting their trial for four counts of involuntary manslaughter resulting from their son’s actions.