‘Instead of fishtailing her hair for a game, I curled her hair in a casket’: Sister of Michigan school shooting victim, 14, tells killer Ethan Crumbley’s sentencing how sibling’s murder has destroyed her life

The sister of Hana St. Juliana, killed by Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, gave emotional testimony during the teen killer’s sentencing hearing.

Reyna St. Juliana spoke about the impact her sister’s death had on her and her family at the hearing for Crumbley, 17. who will be sentenced today after pleaded guilty to the murder of four of his classmates.

The 17-year-old could be jailed without the possibility of parole, a punishment sought by the Oakland County District Attorney’s Office.

In an emotional statement, St. Juliana told her sentencing hearing how her family was coping with the death of her sister, who died in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting.

She told the court: “Instead of performing at her wedding, I performed at her funeral. Instead of putting her hair in a ponytail for the game, I curled her hair in the coffin.”

She added: “Every day we just go through the motions because obviously we have to keep going. I hate this, I never asked for this, I never want to accept this.

“Loving Hana shouldn’t be so painful and life shouldn’t be so paralyzing. I don’t want to wake up in the morning because Hana isn’t here.

“There is no justice that will ever be enough, but the first step is to ensure he never again has the chance to take another life and destroy families.”

Earlier, the court heard Buck Mair, Tate Mair’s father, talk about how his son’s death had devastated his family.

He said: “It’s been quite a journey, I can tell you: there is no love in our family because there is no joy. When there is joy, love is easy.

“Me and my wife are trying to figure out how to save our marriage and save our family, but we haven’t even done anything to each other.

“As we try to navigate these waters, we try to honor Tate. His dad fights, his mom fights and his brothers fight.”

Addressing Crumbley directly, Mair added: “We want you to spend the rest of your life rotting in your cell, and what you stole from us cannot be replaced.”

Crumbley previously pleaded guilty to all 24 counts in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting, including first-degree murder and terrorism.

Students Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Hana St Julian’s, 14, Tate Mair, 16, and Justin Schilling, 17, were killed in the riots. Six students and a teacher were also injured.

Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, will have the opportunity to speak in court and possibly explain why he believes he should be spared a life sentence.

Judge Kwame Rowe also could impose a shorter sentence – 25 to 40 years at a minimum – which would ultimately make him eligible for release by the state parole board.

Paulette’s defense attorney Michelle Loften argues that Crumbley deserves the possibility of parole after his “sick brain” is treated through counseling and rehabilitation.

But after listening expert testimonyIn September, Rowe said he found only a “slim” chance that Crumbley could be rehabilitated behind bars.

In his diary, the shooter wrote about his desire to watch students suffer and the likelihood that he would have to spend his life in prison. The day before the shooting, he made a video in which he explained what he would do the next day.

Crumbley and his parents met with school staff on the day of the shooting after a teacher noticed violent drawings. But no one checked his backpack for a gun, and he was allowed to stay.

Like their son, Jennifer and James Crumbley are locked up in the county jail. They are awaiting trial on manslaughter charges, charges that they provided guns in the home and neglected their son’s mental health.

Jennifer Crumbley has asked a Michigan court to exclude evidence of her son’s alleged abuse of baby chicks from her own criminal trial.

Fox reported that defense attorney Shannon Smith wrote the motion Monday: “The ‘Bird Testimony’ is so disgusting, disgusting and horrific that admitting it is sure to inflame the passions of the jury.”

“The jury will undoubtedly convict Mrs. Crumbley for the heinous acts of her son, of which she knew nothing.”

Court documents state that her son recorded himself on video torturing and killing animals, including a bird.

Defense attorney Ven Johnson claims Crumbley kept the bird’s severed head in a jar and then brought it to school in the jar and placed it in the boy’s bathtub.

Johnson alleges in a federal document that Oakland County School District staff ignored reports from students who saw the bird’s head.

Prosecutors say Crumbley expressed “enjoyment” in killing the family of chicks and found “joy” in hearing them squeal as they died.

According to Fox, the motion said, “It is clear that the shooter mutilated chicks on a number of occasions, sent detailed messages to a friend about mutilating birds, videotaped his actions, and took vile and disgusting videos of his actions.”

“The evidence clearly shows that the shooter intentionally hid all bird evidence from his parents.”

James and Jennifer allegedly bought their son a gun shortly before the school shooting, and his mother said it was a Christmas gift.

On the eve of the sentencing, Schilling’s father Craig said: CNN: “Personally, I feel that when you do something like that, you should suffer the same fate.

“You can’t just pull the trigger and walk away like nothing happened.

“I don’t really think he’ll get what he deserves, but I feel like he’ll be punished to the fullest extent possible, but it’s not enough in my opinion.”

Schilling’s mother Jill Soave added: “I’m praying for life without parole. You know, that would be the least amount of justice that I would consider for his actions.

“Nothing is enough. You know, he will survive, but my son will not. So I will never feel satisfied as a parent, but this is the maximum punishment allowed by law. So I pray that the judge makes this decision.”

In his final moments, Schilling was hiding in the bathroom with fellow student Keegan Gregory, who saw Crumbley kill the student.

On the day of the shooting, Crumbley and his parents met with school staff after a teacher became concerned about drawings that showed a bloody body and a gun pointed at the words, “The thoughts won’t stop.” Help me.’

School officials said Crumbley found his way out of trouble by claiming the drawings were part of plans to create a video game.

After the meeting, Crumbley was allowed to remain at the school, about 40 miles north of Detroit, although his backpack was not checked for weapons.

Later, he came out of the bathroom with a gun and started shooting at his fellow students.

Police say Crumbley’s first victim was freshman Phoebe Arthur, who was wounded in the face but miraculously survived. A total of 13 people were shot, four of them died.

Prosecutors insisted Crumbley’s decisions could not be mitigated by his young age or immaturity.