A Michigan mother, Jennifer Crumbley, has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a jury for her failure to intervene and prevent her son from carrying out a fatal school shooting. This marks a significant legal development as she becomes the first US parent convicted of manslaughter in connection with their child’s involvement in a mass shooting.
Prosecutors asserted that Crumbley was negligent in permitting her son to possess a gun and disregarded warning signs. Her husband, James Crumbley, faces a separate trial on identical charges and has pleaded not guilty. The couple’s 17-year-old son is currently serving a life sentence for killing four classmates at Oxford High School in Michigan on November 30, 2021, with an additional seven people injured in the tragic incident.
The verdict was delivered in an emotionally charged Oakland County court on Tuesday, with Jennifer Crumbley displaying a stoic demeanor. She faced four counts of involuntary manslaughter, each carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years. The judge acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, stating it was likely “the hardest thing you’ve ever done” for the jurors.
Relatives of the victims expressed relief over the verdict, emphasizing the importance of the legal system. Buck Myre, the father of one of the victims, Tate Myre, commented, “The People spoke! You can agree or disagree with the people, but this is how the system is supposed to work.”
The central question in the trial revolved around whether Jennifer Crumbley could have anticipated and prevented the deadly school shooting. Evidence presented by prosecutors indicated that the parents purchased the gun used by their son just days before the incident. Both parents were charged by police shortly after the killings, and they were subsequently located in an industrial building in Detroit following a tip from the public.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that Ethan Crumbley, the son, had expressed a need for mental health assistance and reported hallucinations, yet his parents failed to seek treatment for him. Jennifer Crumbley testified that she did not believe her son had mental health issues.
On the day of the shooting, the parents curtailed a school meeting about their son’s disturbing drawing, opting to go to work instead of taking the then-15-year-old home. School officials allowed him to return to class without inspecting his backpack, which contained a gun. Tragically, a few hours later, he took the lives of Hana St Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, and Madisyn Baldwin and Justin Shilling, both 17.
