Father of Michigan school shooter found guilty of manslaughter

PONTIAC, MI -- A jury on Thursday, March 14, found James Crumbley, the father of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, guilty of manslaughter for the deaths of four Oxford High students murdered by his son.

The 47-year-old is guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison. James Crumbley, who shook his head following the verdict, is expected to be sentenced on April 9.

The week-long trial ended March 13. The jury deliberated for nearly 12 hours over two days.

A jury in a separate trial found 45-year-old Jennifer Crumbley, James Crumbley’s wife, guilty of four counts of manslaughter on Feb. 6. She is awaiting an April 9 sentencing. Jennifer and James Crumbley have remained jailed, currently with $500,000 bonds, since Dec. 3, 2021.

The Crumbleys are believed to the first parents of a school shooter to ever be charged with manslaughter based on murders committed by their child.

Their now-17-year-old son, who was a 15-year-old sophomore when he committed the shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021, pleaded guilty to 24 felonies, including four counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16 and Justin Shilling, 17. He is serving a mandatory life prison sentence.

The shooter’s parents were accused of gross negligence for failing to safely store the handgun used by their son in the attack and for not seeking help for their son when he exhibited warning signs of depression and possible mental illness.

James Crumbley purchased the murder weapon, a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun, for his son four days prior to the shooting. Jennifer Crumbley said the gun was intended for target shooting at the range, a pastime the then-15-year-old shared with his father. On Nov. 29, school officials left Jennifer Crumbley a voicemail letting her know that her son was caught looking at pictures of bullets on his phone in class.

She told her son, next time, don’t get caught.

On the morning of the shooting, both parents were called to the school for an emergency meeting after a teacher discovered concerning violent drawings and statements scrawled on their son’s geometry assignment. The teen wrote, “Blood everywhere,” “My life is useless,” and “The world is dead,” near drawings of a gun and a bleeding body with two bullet holes. The gun resembled the firearm purchased by the shooter’s father days earlier.

The parents agreed to seek counseling for their son within 48 hours, but declined to remove him from school, citing work conflicts. Administrators allowed the teen to return to class with a backpack containing the gun. He commenced the mass shooting about 12:50 p.m.

In total, he fired his gun 32 times, striking 11 people, including 10 students, four who died of their injuries.

Prosecutors said the teen was clearly troubled and should not have had access to a weapon.

The teen’s dog and grandmother recently died, his only friend moved away, his grades were slipping and he was becoming increasingly reclusive.

Based on journal writings and a video manifesto the shooter recorded, the attack was planned.

“I’m going to be the next school shooter ... ” he said in the video recorded about 10 p.m. on the eve of tragedy. “I’m gonna open fire on everyone in the hallway, I will try to hit as many people as I can, I will reload, and I will find people hiding ...

“There’s no voices in my head. The voices are me ... I am the demon.”