School shooter's father found guilty of his son's murders

On March 14, the father of Ethan Crumbley (the Michigan teenager who shot and killed four students at school in 2021) was found guilty of manslaughter. In February, the teen's mother was charged with a shooting committed by her child, reports CNN.

Photo: iStock.com/h4ckermodify

The shooter's father, James Crumbley, was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter. The maximum penalty is up to 15 years in prison.

Ethan Crumbley, who turned 2021 in 15, used a SIG Sauer 9mm pistol. He killed four and injured six students and a teacher at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021.

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James Crumbley and his wife Jennifer Crumbley will be sentenced April 9 at 9:00 a.m.
Family members of the victims cried as the decision was announced.

The parents of students killed in the school shooting, including Madisyn Baldwin, Hana St. Juliana and Justin Schilling, hugged the top prosecutor after the preliminary sentencing.

Parents' guilt

The tragedy could have been avoided. Everything depended on the actions and decisions made by Jennifer and her husband James Crumbley. On the day of the tragedy, November 30, the Crumbleys were asked to attend a meeting at Ethan's school about a drawing he had made. On it he depicted a gun, a bullet, a wounded man and wrote: “Thoughts do not stop. Help me".

The parents did not take their son home or tell the school that James had given Ethan a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol. Jennifer Crumbley replied that they could not take their son because they had work. School staff and parents agreed to keep Ethan in class for the entire day, which turned fatal: the 15-year-old opened fire with a donated gun and killed Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myra, 16, Khan St. Julian, 14, Justin Schilling , 17 years old, and wounded seven other people.

Prosecutors say James Crumbley missed clear signs that his son needed help.

In a message to a friend in April 2021, the juvenile shooter said he heard someone talking to him and he saw someone.

"Yesterday I asked my dad to take me to the doctor, but he just gave me some pills and said, 'Take this,'" the teenager wrote.

Defense attorney Mariella Lehman says there is no evidence that the shooter actually asked for help and no evidence that his father refused to help.

“James had no idea his son was having a hard time,” she said.

Prosecutors said James Crumbley was "grossly negligent" because he bought his son a gun days before the attack, ignored his son's deteriorating mental health and failed to exercise "reasonable care" for his safety.

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“James Crumbley will not stand trial for what his son did,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. “James Crumbley is being judged for what he did and what he didn’t do.”

In response, Lehman's lawyer said the prosecution's case lacked evidence and was based on "speculation and hindsight."

“You heard no testimony and saw no evidence that James knew his son was a danger to anyone,” she noted.

After the decision was announced, MacDonald said his inaction led to the deaths of the students.

“Four children died due to the gross negligence of the shooter’s parents. In Michigan, a parent has a legal duty, and James Crumbley failed to fulfill that duty,” the district attorney said.

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James Crumbley refused to testify. “It is my decision to remain silent,” he said in court.

Jennifer Crumbley's conviction marked the first time the parent of a school shooter was held directly responsible for the killings.

Last year, Ethan was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to terrorism causing death, four murders and 19 other related charges. He did not testify at any of his parents' trials. The defendant exercised his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

Craig Schilling, Justin Schilling's father, said his heart was pounding out of his chest as he prepared to speak.

“I don’t want anyone else to have to be here like this. It’s very difficult to get over it,” he admitted.

Buck Mair, Tate Mair's father, has issued an urgent call for action amid what he called a "mental health crisis".

“This is a deep problem, and it will not be easy to solve,” he stressed.

“A gun is just a tool, so we need to look at other things as well as the gun. We need to think about what we can do to better support these children. This problem needs to be solved because no parent should go through the hell we are going through,” he concluded.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• February 6 Ethan Crumbley's mother recognized guilty.

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