The parents of a Michigan school shooter have each been sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in prison for their role in an attack that killed four students in 2021 in a case that has broken new ground as the US seeks to tackle its years-long epidemic of school shootings.
Jennifer and James Crumbley appeared in court Tuesday as the first parents convicted in an American mass school shooting. During their trials prosecutors said “tragically simple actions” by both parents could have stopped the catastrophe.
The Crumbleys did not know their son, Ethan Crumbley, was planning the shooting at Oxford high school. 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 confronted with a dark drawing by him that day.
Ethan, now 17, pleaded guilty and is serving a life prison sentence.
The couple had separate trials. Jurors heard how the teen had drawn a gun, a bullet and a gunshot victim on a math assignment, accompanied by grim phrases: “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me. My life is useless. Blood everywhere.”
Ethan told a counselor he was sad – a grandmother had died and his only friend suddenly had moved away. But he said the drawing only reflected his interest in creating video games.
The Crumbleys attended a meeting at the school that lasted less than 15 minutes. They did not mention that the gun resembled one James Crumbley, 47, had purchased just four days earlier – a Sig Sauer 9mm.
Ethan’s parents declined 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. A counselor, Shawn Hopkins, said he believed it would be safer for the boy than possibly being alone at home.
No one, however, checked Ethan’s backpack. He pulled the gun out later that day and killed four students – Tate Myre, Hana St Juliana, Justin Shilling and Madisyn Baldwin – and wounded seven other people.
At the close of James Crumbley’s trial, prosecutor Karen McDonald demonstrated how a cable lock, found in a package at home, could have secured the gun.
“Ten seconds,” she said, “of the easiest, simplest thing.”
Parents of students killed by Ethan Crumbley on Tuesday joined prosecutors in requesting that the school shooter’s parents get 10 years in prison.
“The blood of our children is on your hands, too,” said Justin Shilling’s father, Craig Shilling, while wearing a hoodie with the image of his son on his chest.
On the other hand, attorneys for Jennifer and James Crumbley sought mercy on behalf of their clients prior to Tuesday’s sentencing.
“Putting Mrs Crumbley in prison does nothing to further deter others from committing like offenses,” her attorney, Shannon Smith, said. Smith also argued that “any gross negligence” by Jennifer Crumbley were mistakes “that any parent could make”.
James Crumbley’s attorney, Mariell Lehman, said the nearly 2 1/2 years that the couple had spent in jail unable to make $500,000 bond after their arrests should be enough punishment.
Lehman also said her client “did not believe that there was reason to be concerned that his son was a threat to anyone”.
The Associated Press contributed to this report