An Oakland County jury returned with guilty verdicts Thursday for James Crumbley, father of school shooter Ethan Crumbley, for four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
After a full day of deliberations stretched into the early evening, the verdicts were announced shortly before 7:30 p.m. James Crumbley shook his head but appeared to show no other emotion.
Judge Cheryl Matthews, who presided over the trial in Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac, Michigan, told jurors that their facial expressions showed the difficulty they had endured while serving on the panel.
"I know how hard this has been on all of you. … I know this has been a hard decision," she said.
Matthews then lifted the pretrial publicity gag order on the prosecution and defense that she had put in place in July 2022, prohibiting them from speaking with the media.
James Crumbley will be sentenced April 9, the same day his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, will be sentenced for the same involuntary manslaughter charges she was convicted of early last month.
The trials for the parents were remarkably similar.
James Crumbley's trial, which started last week, was a near repeat of Jennifer Crumbley's trial with the prosecution calling many of the same witnesses to testify. While on trial, Jennifer Crumbley took the stand in her own defense; James Crumbley chose not to testify at his trial.
Both Crumbley parents' charges were based on allegations that they were grossly negligent for not acting in a reasonable manner to prevent the "foreseeable" — alleging they failed to get their son needed mental health help and allowed him access to the 9mm Sig Sauer handgun used in the Oxford High School shooting on Nov. 30, 2021. Four students were murdered and seven others were shot that day, including a teacher.
James Crumbley purchased the 9mm handgun four days before the school shooting. The prosecution purported the firearm was purchased as an early Christmas present for the teen, citing Ethan Crumbley's text messages to a friend and social media posts.
Testimony for James Crumbley's trial began March 7 and concluded March 13. More than 300 exhibits were admitted for trial. The prosecution called 15 witnesses to the stand; James Crumbley's sister was the only witness who testified for the defense. Attorney Mariell Lehman built a defense on claims that the charges stemmed from "assumptions and hindsight" about James Crumbley's actions and that he had no reason to suspect his son would pose a danger to others.
Involuntary manslaughter carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a $7,500 fine.
Four people were killed in the shooting.
Ethan Crumbley was 15 years old when he brought a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun to school and, not long after his lunch period, emerged from a bathroom dressed in dark clothing and began shooting. In his 9-minute rampage, he killed Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, Justin Shilling, 17, and Hana St. Juliana, 14.
James Crumbley and Jennifer Crumbley were the first parents in the United States charged with crimes for a school shooting committed by their child. They were arrested on Dec. 4, 2021, at an acquaintance's art studio suite in a multi-tenant building in Detroit. Prosecutors alleged they had fled to evade law enforcement.
Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty in the case and has been sentenced.
Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty in October 2022 to the 24 crimes he was charged with in connection with the shooting: four counts of first-degree premeditated murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, terrorism causing death, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. On Dec. 8, 2023, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but his lawyers have since indicated an appeal is planned.
–by Aileen Wingblad
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