The parents of a Michigan school shooter are asking a judge to keep them out of prison as they face sentencing for their role in an attack that killed four students in 2021.
Jennifer and James Crumbley will be in court Tuesday to close a groundbreaking case: they are the first parents convicted in a mass school shooting in the United States.
The Crumbleys did not know that their son, Ethan Crumbley, was planning the Oxford High School shooting. But prosecutors said the parents failed to safely store a gun and could have prevented the shooting by removing the 15-year-old from school when he was confronted with his dark drawing that day.
Prosecutors are seeking at least 10 years in prison for manslaughter.
Defense attorney Shannon Smith said Jennifer Crumbley was “not a threat to the community.” Smith said she was even willing to host Jennifer Crumbley in a guest house on her property, equipped with an electronic tether.
“Putting Ms. Crumbley in prison does nothing to deter others from committing similar offenses,” Smith said in a court filing. “No one would want a repeat of the events of November 30, 2021. »
Smith said “gross negligence” was a mistake “any parent could make.”
Mariell Lehman, an attorney representing James Crumbley, said the nearly two and a half years he has spent in prison since the couple’s arrest was enough. His wife was also incarcerated, both unable to post $500,000 bail before trial.
James Crumbley “did not think there was any reason to be concerned that his son posed a threat to anyone,” Lehman said.
Ethan Crumbley, now 17, pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence.
Prosecutors said “tragically simple actions” by both parents could have stopped the disaster.
The couple had separate trials in Oakland County Court, 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Detroit. Jurors heard how the teenager drew a gun, a bullet and a gunshot victim during a maths homework, accompanied by dark phrases: “The thoughts won’t stop.” Help me. My life is useless. Blood everywhere.
Ethan told a counselor he was sad — his grandmother had died and his only friend had suddenly moved away — but said the drawing only reflected his interest in creating video games.
The Crumbleys attended a meeting at school that lasted less than 15 minutes. They didn’t mention that the gun looked like the one James Crumbley, 47, had purchased four days earlier — a Sig Sauer 9mm that Ethan had described on social media as his “beauty.”
His parents refused to take him home, choosing instead to return to work and accepting a list of mental health providers. School staff said Ethan could stay on campus. One counselor, Shawn Hopkins, said he thought it would be safer for the boy than staying home alone.
However, no one checked Ethan’s backpack. He pulled out his gun later that day and killed four students – Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Justin Shilling and Madisyn Baldwin – and injured seven others.
There was no expert testimony on Ethan’s state of mind. But the judge, despite the defense’s objections, allowed the jury to view excerpts from his diary.
“I have no help for my mental issues and this is causing me to skip school,” he wrote. “I want help but my parents don’t listen to me, so I can’t get any help. »
Asked whether Ethan had reported hallucinations months before the shooting, Jennifer Crumbley, 46, told jurors he was “just messing around.”
At the end of James Crumbley’s trial, prosecutor Karen McDonald demonstrated how a cable lock, found in a package at his home, could have secured the gun.
“Ten seconds,” she said, “of the easiest and simplest thing. »
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NBC Chicago
