Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of mass killer Ethan Crumbley, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadliest school shooting in Michigan history. They were each sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.
Before announcing the sentence, Judge Cheryl Matthews of the Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac, Mich., said that parents' convictions "are not about poor parenting," saying they could not have predicted that he would kill four of his fellow students. Instead, “these convictions confirm repeated acts or lack of acts that could have halted an oncoming runaway train — repeatedly ignoring things that would make a reasonable person feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up,” The New York Times reported.
Both Jennifer and James Crumbley spoke at the hearing before the judge handed down the sentence. Their son's murders took place at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021. They addressed the relatives of students who were killed, proclaiming their remorse.
“I cannot express how much I wish that I had known what was going on with him or what was going to happen, because I absolutely would have done a lot of things differently,” James Crumbley said in court.
“I stand today not to ask for your forgiveness, as I know it may be beyond reach, but to express my sincerest apologies for the pain that has been caused,” Jennifer Crumbley said.
The apparent consensus among relatives of those who were shot was that the Crumbleys consistently failed to take responsibility for what had happened. “They chose to ignore the warning signs. And now, as we’ve heard through all of the objections, they continue to choose to blame everyone but themselves,” said Steve St. Juliana, whose 14-year-old daughter, Hana, was murdered.
Ethan Crumbley was himself sentenced in 2023 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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