James Crumbley, the father of the teenager who killed four students at a Michigan high school in 2021, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter Thursday, a month after the shooter’s mother was convicted of the same charges.
James Crumbley was convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter, a charge that carries a maximum punishment of up to 15 years in prison, which would run concurrently.
Jury deliberations that concluded Thursday came more than two years after his son, Ethan Crumbley, then 15, used a SIG Sauer 9mm to kill four students and wound six others and a teacher at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021.
James Crumbley is set to be sentenced on April 9 at 9 a.m., the judge said in court. His wife, Jennifer Crumbley, will be sentenced at the same date and time.
Final arguments: Prosecutors in closing arguments Wednesday said James Crumbley was “grossly negligent” because he bought the SIG Sauer 9mm gun for his son days before the attack, failed to properly secure it, ignored his son’s deteriorating mental health, and did not take “reasonable care” to prevent foreseeable danger.
“James Crumbley is not on trial for what his son did,” Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney Karen McDonald said. “James Crumbley is on trial for what he did and what he didn’t do.”
In response, defense attorney Mariell Lehman asserted the prosecution’s case lacked evidence and was based on “assumptions and hindsight.”
“You heard no testimony and you saw no evidence that James had any knowledge that his son was a danger to anyone,” she said.
Testing the limits: The cases against the parents represent a test of the limits of who is responsible for a mass shooting. Prosecutors aiming to expand the scope of blame in mass shootings have used a novel legal strategy by arguing the parents are personally responsible for the deaths because they got their son a gun and ignored signs of his declining mental health.
Parents have previously faced liability for their child’s actions, such as with neglect or firearms charges, but Jennifer Crumbley’s guilty verdict was the first time a school shooter’s parent was held directly responsible for the killings.
Parents welcome verdict:
- Buck Myre, father of Tate Myre: “The gun is just a tool. So, we got to look at other things other than the gun. We gotta see what we can do to support these kids better,” Buck Myre said at a news conference. “We need to solve this because no parents should go through the hell we’re going through.”
- Steve St. Juliana, father of Hana St. Juliana, said mass shootings are the “number one killer of our kids,” and called for more action to be taken on the issue. “There is so much more that absolutely must be done — it’s crazy.”
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