Current:Home > NewsJames and Jennifer Crumbley, parents of Michigan shooter, to be sentenced today -Wealth Legacy Solutions
James and Jennifer Crumbley, parents of Michigan shooter, to be sentenced today
Chainkeen Exchange View
Date:2025-03-11 01:32:33
Jennifer and James Crumbley, the first parents of a mass school shooter in the U.S. to be convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting, are set to be sentenced on Tuesday.
Prosecutors asked that each parent be given 10 to 15 years in prison after separate juries found them each guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year. Their son, Ethan, is serving a life sentence for the murders of four of his classmates at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan, on Nov. 30, 2021, when he was 15 years old.
The parents have shown no remorse for their actions, prosecutors told Judge Cheryl Matthews in a sentencing memo. They told the juries that the Crumbleys bought their son the gun he used to kill Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17, and ignored troubling signs about the teen's mental health.
Loved ones of the victims are expected to read victim impact statements in court on Tuesday.
Legal experts have said the case, which drew national attention, could impact how society views parents' culpability when their children access guns and cause harm with them. Whether the outcome encourages prosecutors to bring future charges against parents remains to be seen.
Why were the Crumbleys culpable in their son's crimes?
The Crumbleys' son went on a rampage in the halls of Oxford High School hours after his parents were called to the school by counselors to discuss concerns over disturbing drawings he had done on a math assignment. Prosecutors said they didn't tell school officials that their son had access to guns in the home and left him at school that day.
James Crumbley purchased the gun used in the shooting, and in a post on social media Jennifer Crumbley said it was a Christmas present for the boy. The prosecution said the parents could have prevented the shooting if they had taken ordinary care to secure the gun and taken action when it was clear their son was having severe mental health issues.
The prosecution cited messages the teen sent months before the shooting to his mom that said he saw a "demon" in their house and that clothes were flying around. He also texted a friend that he had "paranoia" and was hearing voices. In a journal, the shooter wrote: "I have zero HELP for my mental problems and it's causing me to shoot up" the school.
The Crumbleys also attempted to flee from law enforcement when it became clear they would face charges, prosecutors said.
Defense attorneys said the parents never foresaw their son's actions. Jennifer Crumbley portrayed herself as an attentive mother when she took the stand in her own defense, and James Crumbley's lawyer said the gun didn't really belong to the son, and the father properly secured the gun and didn't allow his son to use it unsupervised. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, the jury foreman in James Crumbley's trial said the storage of the gun was the key issue that drove him to convict.
Parents asked for house arrest, time served
James Crumbley has asked to be sentenced to time already served since his arrest in December 2021, according to the prosecutors' sentencing memo, while Jennifer Crumbley hoped to serve out a sentence on house arrest while living in her lawyer's guest house.
Prosecutors rejected the requests in the memo to the judge, saying neither had shown remorse for their roles in the deaths of four children. James Crumbley also allegedly made threats against Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald in a jail phone conversation, Keast said, showing his "chilling lack of remorse."
"Such a proposed sentence is a slap in the face to the severity of tragedy caused by (Jennifer Crumbley's) gross negligence, the victims and their families," Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast wrote of the mother's request in a sentencing memo.
Each involuntary manslaughter count carries up to 15 years in prison, though typically such sentences are handed down concurrently, not consecutively. The judge also has the discretion to go above or below the state advisory guidelines, which recommended a sentencing range of 43 to 86 months − or a maximum of about seven years. The state guideline is advisory, based on post-conviction interviews and facts of the case.
veryGood! (16)
Related
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Arby's+? More restaurants try subscription programs to keep eaters coming back
- The social cost of carbon: a powerful tool and ethics nightmare
- One officer shot dead, 2 more critically injured in Fargo; suspect also killed
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- You'll Unconditionally Love Katy Perry's Latest Hair Transformation
- Renting a home may be more financially prudent than buying one, experts say
- Iowa's 6-week abortion ban signed into law, but faces legal challenges
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- An energy crunch forces a Hungarian ballet company to move to a car factory
Ranking
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- Expansion of I-45 in Downtown Houston Is on Hold, for Now, in a Traffic-Choked, Divided Region
- House approves NDAA in near-party-line vote with Republican changes on social issues
- Donald Trump’s Parting Gift to the People of St. Croix: The Reopening of One of America’s Largest Oil Refineries
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- Tesla recalls nearly 363,000 cars with 'Full Self-Driving' to fix flaws in behavior
- In Corpus Christi’s Hillcrest Neighborhood, Black Residents Feel Like They Are Living in a ‘Sacrifice Zone’
- House approves NDAA in near-party-line vote with Republican changes on social issues
Recommendation
Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
Do work requirements help SNAP people out of government aid?
A Single Chemical Plant in Louisville Emits a Super-Pollutant That Does More Climate Damage Than Every Car in the City
DeSantis' campaign is brutally honest about trailing Trump in presidential race, donors say
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
Bachelor Fans Will Want to Steal Jason Tartick and Kaitlyn Bristowe's Date Night Ideas for a Sec
A Triple Whammy Has Left Many Inner-City Neighborhoods Highly Vulnerable to Soaring Temperatures
Warming Trends: Climate Divide in the Classroom, an All-Electric City and Rising Global Temperatures’ Effects on Mental Health