Parents of Ethan Crumbley, convicted in Michigan school shooting each was executed On Tuesday, a man was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for his role in the 2021 deaths of four high school students.
James and Jennifer Crumbley became the first parents in the United States to be criminally charged and convicted in the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan.
The Crumbleys were found guilty of four counts of manslaughter earlier this year in a separate trial in Oakland County Court, about 40 miles north of Detroit.
Ethan Crumbley, now 17, pleaded guilty to 24 charges in 2022 and is serving multiple life sentences.
Prosecutors say the parents did not store the gun properly and could have prevented the shooting by removing the then-15-year-old boy from school when authorities raised concerns about a drawing in a school project. He claimed to have sex.
The artwork featured a gun with the words “Feelings don’t stop.” help me. ” School officials asked the Crumbleys to take their son home that day for counseling, but they declined.
According to the Associated Press, Ethan told a counselor that he was upset because his grandmother had passed away and a friend had suddenly moved away, and later claimed that the painting was an expression of his interest in making video games. I told him.
School officials returned him to class later that day without checking his backpack, which contained a concealed handgun.
Crumbley then shot and killed 10 students and a teacher. Four students were killed: Justin Schilling, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, and Hannah St. Juliana.
Although her parents were not charged with having prior knowledge of his plan, prosecutors said Jennifer Crumbley had a drawing of a gun that matched one they had in their home and that it was He claimed he knew it had not been stored properly.
The couple appeared in court for sentencing Tuesday, but first heard a victim impact statement from Baldwin’s mother, Nicole Beausoleil. Jill Soave and Craig Schilling, the father and mother of another victim, and St. Juliana’s sister, Reina St. Juliana, also spoke in court, CBS News reported. report.
Prosecutors had asked for at least 10 years in prison for the parents, according to the Associated Press. The maximum sentence for their conviction is 15 years.
The Crumbleys are expected to be considered for parole in the future, and will be recognized for the approximately two-and-a-half years they have already spent in prison.
parents fled the area days after prosecutors announced charges against them. They were later found barricaded in a Detroit art studio after a business owner noticed the license plate and called police.
The defense argued that the couple had intended to turn themselves in but were in the studio out of concern for their own safety, but the judge sided with prosecutors who argued that the parents had deliberately avoided police.
Defense attorney Shannon Smith argued that Crumbley’s mother was “not a threat to the community” and that her incarceration “will not further deter others from committing similar crimes.” The Associated Press reported.
James Crumbley’s attorney, Marielle Lehman, told the judge the couple had already been in custody for a long time.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
