The parents of a Michigan school shooter were sentenced to at least ten years in jail on Tuesday for failing to take action that could have avoided the deaths of four fellow students in 2021.
Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting
Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents in the United States to be convicted of mass school shootings. They were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors provided evidence of an unsecured gun at home and a disregard for the teen’s mental health.
Ethan Crumbley drew dark images of a gun, a bullet, and a wounded guy on a math assignment, followed by depressing remarks. Staff at Oxford High School did not demand that he go home but were startled when the Crumbleys didn’t volunteer it during a brief meeting.
Later that day, on November 30, 2021, the 15-year-old took a handgun from his backpack and opened fire on the school. Ethan, now 17, is serving a life sentence for murder and other crimes.
Before sentencing, family members of the students killed in the shooting asked the judge to sentence the parents to ten years in prison, describing them as failures whose selfishness resulted in four fatalities and a community tragedy.
“The blood of our children is on your hands, too,” said Craig Shilling, wearing a hoodie with a picture of his son Justin Shilling on it.
Nicole Beausoleil, Madisyn Baldwin’s mother, recalled simple things she enjoyed doing for her daughter.
“While you were purchasing a gun for your son and leaving it unlocked, I was helping her finish her college essays,” Beausoleil told James and Jennifer Crumbley.
“Tragically simple actions” by both parents may have prevented the tragedy
Five deputies in the courtroom stood watch over the Crumbleys, and more lined the walls. They are the first parents in the United States to be convicted of a mass school shooting.
Prosecutors claimed that “tragically simple actions” by both parents may have prevented the tragedy.
The couple faced separate trials in Oakland County Court, 40 miles north of Detroit. Jurors heard how the teenager drew a gun, a bullet, and a shooting victim on a math project, along with dismal lines like “The thoughts won’t stop.” Help me. My existence is pointless. “There’s blood everywhere.”
Ethan told a counselor that he was depressed because his grandma had died and his only buddy had suddenly passed away, but said the drawing just reflected his interest in designing video games.
The Crumbleys attended a meeting at school that lasted less than 15 minutes. They didn’t note that the gun looked like one James Crumbley, 47, had bought just four days ago – a Sig Sauer 9 mm that Ethan had described on social media as his “beauty.”