Mother of Oxford, Michigan, school shooter found guilty of manslaughter

A jury found Jennifer Crumbley guilty of manslaughter after her son killed four students at a Michigan high school in 2021. The shooter's father, James Crumbley, is set to go to trial next month.

There have been several other cases in which parents were charged for shootings carried out by their children, though not one in a school mass shooting.

For example, the father of the July 4 mass shooter in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, was accused of wrongdoing for signing his son’s application for an Illinois Firearm Owners Identification card months after his son displayed concerning behavior. The father, Robert Crimo Jr., ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct charges and agreed to serve 60 days in jail.

In a similar vein, the mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher at a Virginia school last year faced charges. The boy’s mother ultimately pleaded guilty to a state child neglect charge and felony charges of unlawful use of a controlled substance while possessing a firearm and making a false statement while purchasing a firearm.

But, the level of severity in the case of the Crumbleys is different. In a written opinion filed last March, a panel of judges for the state’s appellate court acknowledged the possible precedent-setting nature of these cases but called the situation unique and unusual.

Joey Jackson, a CNN legal analyst, said the prosecution’s broad goal in bringing these cases was to deter other parents.

The jury foreperson in the trial of Jennifer Crumbley — the mother of the teenager who killed four students at an Oxford, Michigan, high school in 2021 — said the fact that Crumbley was the last adult seen with the gun before the shooting “really hammered it home.” 

“Lives hung in the balance, and we took that very seriously,” the woman, who identified herself as the foreperson in the courtroom and who read the jury's verdict, said. She declined to give her name.

She said “both sides were well represented” when asked whether the jurors had to convince each other while deliberating. 

“The thing that really hammered it home is that she was the last adult with the gun,” the foreperson said when asked by CNN about whether there was anything specific the jury debated over that stuck.

During her closing arguments, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald put up a photo of Jennifer Crumbley leaving the gun range on November 27, 2021, carrying the gun in a case that her son used in the shooting.

“This is the last picture we have of that gun until we see it murder four kids on November 30, and the person holding it is Jennifer Crumbley. She’s the last person we see with that gun,” McDonald said.

James Crumbley, whose son killed four people in a mass shooting at a Michigan high school in 2021, is set to go to trial on March 5.

He has pleaded not guilty to four charges of involuntary manslaughter for his alleged role in the shooting. It comes after the shooter's mother, Jennifer Crumbley, was found guilty of the same charges on Tuesday.

The evidence and arguments in James Crumbley's trial may differ. At first, they had been working toward a joint defense, but their cases were separated after their defense learned of a conflict between the two. According to a prosecution filing from last year, Jennifer Crumbley “placed blame” on her husband in the shooting, leading to the split.

Why this is important: In bringing manslaughter charges, prosecutors alleged the gunman’s parents are also responsible for the students’ deaths — a novel and unusual legal theory.

Parents have been charged for their child’s actions before, but not in this specific way, according to Misty Marris, a trial attorney who has followed the case.

“It’s not the first time that a parent has been held liable in some capacity for the acts of a child or a shooter, however, usually those charges relate to child neglect or manifest as a failure to keep a firearm locked up,” Marris said. “This is very different because it’s actually holding them responsible for the killings.”

Jennifer Crumbley was convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday afternoon.

She pleaded not guilty to all four counts for her role in the November 30, 2021, mass shooting at Oxford High School, which left four students dead and seven other people wounded, including a teacher. 

Here's what both sides argued during the trial:

• The prosecution argued Crumbley was responsible for the deaths because she was “grossly negligent” in giving a gun to her son Ethan, who was 15 at the time, and failing to get him proper mental health treatment despite warning signs. Over a week of testimony, law enforcement officials, school employees, shooting victims and those who knew Jennifer Crumbley testified for the prosecution.  
• The defense argued the blame laid elsewhere: on her husband for improperly securing the firearm; on the school for failing to notify her about her son’s behavioral issues; and on Ethan himself, who planned and carried out the attack on his own. Defense attorney Shannon Smith said the case was “dangerous” for parents everywhere. During her trial, Jennifer Crumbley took the stand in her own defense and said she wouldn't have done anything differently.
• The big picture: Broadly, the prosecution’s case relied on an unusual and novel legal strategy and represents an attempt to expand the scope of blame in mass shootings. And in its specifics, the trial provided an intimate view of the collapse of one American family. Crumbley’s husband, James, is scheduled to go on trial on the same charges in early March. 

Craig Shilling, the father of Justin Shilling, one of the four students killed in the 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School, said the guilty verdict for the mother of the shooter was emotional.

“It was a long time coming, but it's definitely a step toward accountability," Shilling told reporters outside the courtroom on Tuesday.

Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter and is set to be sentenced on April 9. Each count carries a maximum punishment of up to 15 years in prison, which would run concurrently. 

“It's definitely going to resonate with me for a while," he said. “It's not really about winning or losing. It's about making it apparent that all of this has to stop in society."

He said parents need to address “things at every level” and there’s “no way to look the other way” now. In the case of Jennifer Crumbley, the father said many things could have stopped the shooting before it started.

"You cannot choose to take your own interests over your child, especially when it comes to mental health and addressing, you know, concerns, the problem. Everything about that was disturbing," Shilling said.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald hugged the fathers of Justin Shilling and Madisyn Baldwin before she left the courtroom.

Both 17-year-olds were killed in the mass shooting at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021.

Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Tate Myre, 16, were also killed in the shooting. Six other students and a teacher were injured.

Jennifer Crumbley, who was convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9.

Each charge carries a maximum punishment of up to 15 years in prison.

Crumbley’s husband, James, is scheduled to go on trial on the same charges in early March.

Their son Ethan pleaded guilty to one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of murder and 19 other charges related to the deadly rampage. He was sentenced last year to life in prison without parole.

Jennifer Crumbley remained looking down during the verdict. A jury found her guilty of manslaughter following a 2021 Michigan school shooting in which her son killed four students.

There were no audible reactions in the gallery, but there were some tears. Two rows in the gallery were reserved for family of the victims.

Crumbley left the courtroom shackled.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald went to hug two parents of victims before she left the courtroom. A few other prosecutors shook the parents’ hands as well.

Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the teenager who killed four students at an Oxford, Michigan, high school in 2021, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a trial that stood as a test of the limits of who’s responsible for a school shooting. 

Jennifer Crumbley was convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter, a charge that comes with a maximum punishment of up to 15 years in prison for each count.