Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
On November 30, 2021, Ethan Crumbley killed four students after he opened fire at his high school in Oxford, Michigan. As a result, authorities charged him with terrorism and murder. After a long trial, the court sentenced him to life in prison. On the other hand, authorities also charged Ethan’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, with involuntary manslaughter. Now, over two years later, the court has finally come out with a verdict in Jennifer Crumbley’s case and found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
According to CNN, the court found her guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in the Michigan School Shooting. With this verdict, Jennifer Crumbley became the first US parent of a school shooter to be held accountable for the slayings. Citing the prosecution, the above-mentioned outlet reported Crumbley was “grossly negligent” in handing out a gun to her son, Ethan.
Meanwhile, she never did anything to give her son proper treatment for his mental health problems. The prosecutors presented testimonies from law enforcement officials, shooting victims, school employees, and people who had known Crumbley for over a week.
After the verdict, one of the parents of the shooting victims expressed gratitude towards the court for the guilty verdict. According to the parent’s statement, CNN mentioned, “It was a long time coming, but it’s definitely a step towards accountability that we’ve been discussing. It’s kind of been our goal the whole time.“ Jennifer Crumbley faces up to 15 years in prison, with the sentencing hearing scheduled for April 9. Her husband will be going on trial on the same charges in March 2024.
Ethan Crumbley mass shooting case explored
As mentioned above, Ethan Crumbley opened fire at Oxford High School and killed four students. Subsequently, several students were injured during the shooting. The incident also injured a teacher. According to FOX12 Detroit, Jennifer Crumbley messaged Ethan as soon as the news of an active shooter surfaced online. In the message, she wrote, “Ethan don’t do it.”
Fortunately, police officers managed to catch Ethan within minutes of the shooting. The authorities took him into custody and charged him as an adult with murder and terrorism. They also charged his parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, with involuntary manslaughter. Meanwhile, a large gathering took place in downtown Oxford to honor the victims.
In 2022, Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to almost 24 charges, including “first-degree premeditated murder and terrorism causing death.” Citing the court, ABC News reported that Ethan had the chance to change his mind but didn’t. The judge also talked about the “extensive planning” that went into the shooting.
The court called it an “execution.” The judge added, “He continued to walk through the school, picking and choosing who was going to die.” Before the sentencing, Ethan addressed the court and called himself a “bad person.” He said, “I am a really bad person, I have done terrible things that no one should ever do.” As a result, the court sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Currently, he is serving his sentence at the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer, Michigan.
Ethan’s parents pleaded not guilty to charges
Although Ethan pleaded guilty to his crimes, his parents went on to plead not guilty. In January 2024, the trial of Jennifer Crumbley began, and the prosecution team tried to prove how she was also responsible for her son’s actions. As per ABC News, the prosecutors argued that Crumbley could have stopped her son from taking a drastic step but didn’t. The jurors deliberated for 11 hours and announced a guilty verdict.
