OXFORD, Mich. (WXYZ) — The parents of the boy accused of shooting his classmates at Oxford High School want to limit who knows what about their court proceedings.
Their defense team filed a motion to stop the flow of information to any parent whose child wasn’t killed during the mass shooting.
"It's tiring, it's hard and it's painful,” Lori Borgeau, an Oxford parent, said.
It's almost been a year since a mass shooting shocked the Oxford community.
Borgeau's says every child there at the high school that day is a victim, even if they don't have the physical scars to prove it.
"We found out that the defense attorneys filed a motion to stop the prosecution victim advocate team from sharing updates with us," Borgeau said.
The motion was filed on behalf of Ethan Crumbley's parents, who are facing charges for failing to secure the gun he used in the shooting and ignoring his mental distress signs.
Their defense team thinks only families who lost children that day should know what's going on.
"We have a trauma bond that cannot be taken away and that is not going to be divided by a tactic used by the defense team," Andrea Jones, an Oxford parent, said. "We are solid on that."
In a release, the prosecution said they plan to argue that, "The exact same gross negligence that led to the four deaths also led to the seven other gunshot wounds and led to the terrorism of all victims."
Parents say what adds insult to injury is Crumbley’s parents also want their case dismissed.
Investigators say in addition to their negligence with their son, the Crumbleys also tried to hide from police after the shooting.
"I am frustrated with how people can do that, and here we were just sending our kids to school. And we are being told we are not victim enough," Borgeau said.
Parents aren't happy with the school board either. They continue to plead for transparency.
An independent investigation of what happened is set to be conducted by a firm called Guidepost this week.
Borgeau says it's not enough, especially since teachers were told not to cooperate.
"The people who really have the information are afraid to come forward with it," Borgeau said. "It's not about pointing fingers, it's about finding out what needs to change at all Michigan schools so all Michigan kids are safer."
Guidepost will be conducting interviews starting Wednesday through Friday.
If those times don’t work, parents can also sign up to do them virtually by emailing Morgan Maiorino at mmaiorino@guidepostolutions.com.
