James and Jennifer Crumbley could barely look at each other as they were forced into a frosty reunion at their manslaughter conviction following the shooting of their teenage son Ethan at school.
The Michigan parents each face up to 15 years in prison, after being convicted in separate trials of ignoring their son’s pleas for mental health support before buying him the gun he used to kill four classmates in 2021.
James was first led into the courtroom in orange prison garb before his estranged wife joined him at their lawyer’s table a few minutes later, the two appearing to struggle not to look at each other and look straight ahead.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence each parent to 10 to 15 years in prison, citing their “chilling lack of remorse.”
James was particularly targeted by prosecutors, and had his communications cut off during his trial after making a series of threatening calls from prison, including claims that prosecutor Karen McDonald would face “retaliation.”
James and Jennifer Crumbley sat at the same table before their sentencing as they will be forced to hear at least 11 victim impact statements.
Jennifer watches James Crumbley during their sentencing hearing. The couple has been separated for years, asked for their trials to be separated and have each spent 27 months in prison since their arrest.
The couple’s son Ethan was 15 when he opened fire on his classmates at Oxford High School in November 2021, killing four people and injuring seven others. He is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Their son Ethan was 15 when he opened fire on his classmates at Oxford High School in November 2021, killing four people and injuring seven others. He is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Following the shooting, the Crumbleys fled the Oxford Township area after the charges against them were announced.
They remained on the run for about a day, emptying their bank accounts and turning off their phones before being captured in a Detroit art studio, gestures that took center stage during their trials.
The parents were also accused of recklessly buying Ethan the gun used in the tragedy while ignoring his pleas for help, as their juries saw his diary in which he detailed how his parents “wouldn’t help him not”.
James and Jennifer were tried separately at their own request, and their trials marked the first time parents were charged in connection with their child’s school shooting. The married couple has been separated for years as they have both been incarcerated since their arrest more than two years ago.
At Jennifer’s trial, her claims that she was ‘too busy’ to help Ethan on the day of the shooting after he was caught drawing disturbing images of school shootings were dismissed as revelations humiliating attacks on his private life were heard by the court.
Namely, she was caught having an extramarital affair with a local fire captain amid claims she met him during the tragedy, as well as allegations regarding her use of hookup apps online as prosecutors portrayed her as a neglectful mother.
The parents’ lawyers countered the prosecution’s request for conviction by each asking for a sentence of less than five years.
Jennifer’s lawyer also requested that the 27 months she has already served be taken into account in sentencing and that she be placed under house arrest “under duress” at the home of her defense attorney.
James Crumbley seen at his trial, held separately from his estranged wife’s trial, on February 21, 2024. While he now faces sentencing, prosecutors cited him for making “threatening” calls to jail during the trial .
Jennifer Crumbley seen entering court shortly before being found guilty of manslaughter, February 6, 2024.
Police said Crumbley’s first victim was freshman Phoebe Arthur (pictured), who was shot in the face but miraculously survived. A total of 11 people were shot, four of whom died
Madisyn Baldwin, 17 (left) and Hana St Juliana, 14 (right) died in the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit.
Justin Shilling, 17 (left) and Tate Myre, 16 (right) were also killed in the senseless shooting.
In his request for a more lenient sentence, Jennifer’s lawyer said she was “extremely upset and remorseful” following the shooting.
However, she faced increased scrutiny when she took the stand in her own defense at trial, as Jennifer insisted that she was not at fault and that the blame was placed on her husband, her son and at school. She testified: “I wondered if I would have done things differently, and I wouldn’t have.
In a separate application, James Crumbley’s lawyer said the father had “expressed significant remorse” for his role in the tragedy and asked that he be sentenced to 28 months in prison with time served as well as a maximum monitoring period.
Alternatively, the lawyer requested 43 months in prison with time served.
James had his communications cut off from anyone other than his legal team during his trial after he made a series of “threatening” calls to the jail, including saying prosecutors would face “retaliation.”
His lawyer denied his calls were threats and insisted James “was engaged in frustrated name-calling at worst.”
At James’ trial, jurors learned that he bought his son the Sig Sauer 9mm firearm used in the shooting at a Black Friday sale four days before the school shooting, and Jennifer took it to the shooting range the day after purchasing it.
James failed to properly secure the gun, only keeping it in a safe which Ethan easily opened on the day of the shooting. His trial also revealed that he kept other weapons locked only with the code “000.”
The morning of the school shooting, teachers became concerned after finding alarming drawings and writing on homework, including drawings of shooting victims with the slogan “The thoughts won’t stop… Help me”.
One of the teenage killer’s trips to the shooting range with his father was shown in court during James’ trial, eerily matching the stance he took when he shot and killed his classmates.
In one of Ethan Crumbley’s diary entries shown at trial, Ethan wrote: “I have no help for my mental problems and it leads me to shoot up this damn school.”
A significant portion of both parents’ trials also focused on a crucial school meeting on the morning of the shooting.
Ethan’s teachers became concerned after reviewing his math homework, in which he made disturbing drawings of shootings and wrote, “The thoughts won’t stop, help me.”
Unbeknownst to anyone else in the room, Ethan had stolen the 9mm semi-automatic pistol from his home, which James had failed to lock up. At his trial, it was learned that the gun’s cable lock was still in its packaging inside the box.
James and Jennifer were taken to school to discuss the drawings, but both said they were “too busy” to take it home and returned to work. Less than two hours later, Ethan opened fire.
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