For the first time in U.S. history, parents of a school shooter were both sentenced to 10-15 years in prison for a mass shooting at a high school in a Detroit, Michigan, suburb in 2021. On Tuesday, April 9, a judge sentenced James and Jennifer Crumbley after testimony from the victims’ family members.
“You failed as parents,” said Nicole Beausoleil, one of the mothers of a school shooting victim. “It will never be a loss that you have suffered, and it will never heal the pain because one day you’re going to be able to see your son; visit, hear his voice, possibly laugh, maybe see him grown. I will never see that again.”
A judge sentenced James and Jennifer Crumbley one after another. Their son, now-17-year-old Ethan Crumbley, is serving a life sentence in prison after pleading guilty as an adult to shooting and killing four of his classmates at Oxford High School on Nov. 21, 2022. A jury convicted Ethan’s parents of four counts of involuntary manslaughter as a result of the shooting.
Prosecutors said that Ethan’s parents could have prevented the shooting with “tragically simple actions.” In closing arguments, the prosecutor showed how a cable lock, found in a package at the family’s home, could have secured the gun.
James Crumbley told police that he bought the gun with Ethan just days before the shooting. A day after the gun purchase, Jennifer Crumbley took Ethan to the gun range.
The following week, a teacher said she found a note from Ethan. The note reportedly had a drawing and a person who had been shot. The message read: “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”
Subsequently, the school had a meeting with the Ethan’s parents about the contents of the note. However, the Crumbleys refused to take Ethan home and went back to work.
Later that afternoon, Ethan shot and killed four of his classmates. Officials with the school later said if they had known Ethan had a gun they would have been “more authoritative to ensure immediate safety.”
The Crumbleys are the first parents in U.S. history to be charged and convicted in their child’s mass shooting at a school.
As the trial concluded, both Jennifer and James Crumbley expressed regrets, however, Jennifer maintained she was a good parent. The hearing on Tuesday is the first time that both parents have been together since an earlier hearing in the fall.
