'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 who was murdered by Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley has given an emotional testimony during the killer teen's sentencing hearing. 

Reina St. Juliana spoke of the impact the death of her sister had on her and her family at the hearing of Crumbley, 17, who is to be sentenced later today after pleading guilty to killing four of his classmates. 

The 17-year-old could be locked up with no chance of parole, a punishment that is being sought by prosecutors in Oakland County. 

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

She told the court: 'Instead of speaking at her wedding, I spoke at her funeral. Instead of fishtailing her hair for a game, I curled her hair in a casket.'

She added: 'Each day is just going through the motions because apparently we are supposed to go on. I hate it, I never asked for it, I never want to accept. 

'Loving Hana shouldn't be this painful, and life shouldn't be so paralyzing. I don't want to wake up in the morning because Hana is not here.

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

Earlier, the court had heard from Buck Myre, father of Tate Myre, who spoke of how his son's death ruined his family. 

He said: 'It's been quite the journey I can tell you that, love is absent from our family because there is no joy. When you have joy it is easy to love.

'Me and my wife are trying to figure out how to save our marriage and save our family, and we didn't even do anything to each other.

'As we try to navigate these waters, we try to honor Tate. His dad is fighting, his mom is fighting and his brothers are fighting.' 

Speaking directly to Crumbley, Myre added: 'We want you to spend the rest of your life rotting in your cell, what you stole from us is not replaceable.'

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

Students Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Hana St. Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, and Justin Shilling, 17, were killed in the rampage. Six students and a teacher were also wounded.

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

Judge Kwamé Rowe also could order a shorter sentence - anywhere from 25 years to 40 years at a minimum - that would eventually make him eligible for release by the state parole board. 

Defense attorney Paulette Michel Loftin has argued Crumbley deserves an opportunity for parole after his 'sick brain' is fixed through counseling and rehabilitation.

But after listening to testimony from experts, Rowe said in September that he had found only a 'slim' chance that Crumbley could be rehabilitated behind bars.

In a journal, the shooter wrote about his desire to watch students suffer and the likelihood that he would spend his life in prison. He made a video on the eve of the shooting, declaring 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 involuntary manslaughter charges, accused of making a gun accessible at home and neglecting their son's mental health.

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

Fox reported that attorney Shannon Smith wrote in a motion on Monday: 'The ‘bird evidence’ is so extremely disgusting, sickening, and appalling that its admission would certainly inflame the passions of a jury. 

'The jury will undoubtedly judge Mrs. Crumbley for the heinous acts of her son, which she knew nothing about.'

Court filings have indicated that her son had recorded himself on video torturing and killing animals including a bird. 

Attorney Ven Johnson claims that Crumbley kept a bird's severed head in a jar and that he brought the head to school in a jar and placed it in the boy's bathroom. 

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

Prosecutors say Crumbley expressed 'delight' in killing a family of baby birds and found 'joy' in hearing them squeal as they died. 

According to Fox, the motion said: 'It is clear that the shooter has mutilated baby birds on more than one occasion, texted a friend details about mutilating birds, video recorded himself doing so, and photographed vile and disgusting video of his actions.

'The evidence makes it clear that the shooter intentionally hid all of the ‘bird evidence’ from his parents.'

James and Jennifer allegedly purchased a gun for their son just before the school shooting, with his mom claiming it was a Christmas present. 

Ahead of the sentencing, Shilling's father Craig told CNN: 'I personally feel that when you do something like that, that you should meet the same fate. 

'You can't just pull the trigger on somebody and then walk away like nothing happened. 

'I actually, I don't think he's going to get what he deserves to get, but I feel like he's going to be punished for the full extent that they can be, but then in my mind that is not enough.'

Shilling's mother Jill Soave added: 'I'm praying for life without parole. That would be the least amount of justice, you know, that I would consider for his actions. 

'Nothing is enough. You know, he gets to live, and my son doesn't. So I'm never going to feel satisfied as a parent, but that is the maximum punishment allowed by the law. So I am praying that the judge will make that decision.'

In his final moments, Shilling had been hiding in a bathroom with another student Keegan Gregory who watched Crumbley murder the student. 

On the day of the shooting, Crumbley and his parents had met with school staff after a teacher was troubled by drawings that included a bloody body and a gun pointing at the words, 'The thoughts won't stop. Help me.'

School officials said Crumbley talked 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 stay in school, about 40 miles north of Detroit, though his backpack was not checked for weapons. 

He later emerged from a bathroom with a pistol and began firing on fellow students. 

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

Prosecutors insisted Crumbley´s decisions can´t be mitigated by his young age or immaturity.