The parents of a teenager who shot and killed four high school students in Oxford, Michigan in November 2021 have been sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison each.
Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of shooter Ethan Crumbley, was convicted in February 2024 of involuntary manslaughter.
Crumbley’s verdict came on the second day of jury deliberations in a historic trial in which she became the first parent to be held criminally responsible for a mass shooting committed by their child.
After being charged in December 2021, Crumbley and her husband fled police before being eventually apprehended.
The jury foreperson told ABC News that the verdict “came down to the fact that Jennifer was the last adult with the gun.”
School officials reportedly contacted the parents and said they discovered violent drawings Ethan had done on a school assignment.
After being told by school officials to remove their son from school and seek mental help, the Crumbleys claimed they had to get back to work and sent him back to class anyway.
During this weeks sentencing, families of the victims spoke about their loved ones.
“When you knew the gun was missing, you called the police knowing it was your son who took it. I was having family call every hospital describing what (Madisyn) looked like,” mom of Madisyn Baldwin said. “When you texted ‘[shooter] don’t do it,’ I was texting Madisyn, ‘I love you please call mom.’”
Prosecutors had asked for 10 to 15 years in state prison for each parent, saying they showed a “chilling lack of remorse” toward their son’s actions.
Crumley’s father also threatened the prosecutor in multiple jail calls, saying in one, “There will be retribution, believe me.”
