The parents of a teenager who took a handgun to school and killed four of his classmates in 2021 received sentences Tuesday of at least 10 years each for failing to take steps to prevent the tragedy.
Jennifer and James Crumbley, who were tried separately earlier this year, were each convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths caused by their then 15-year-old son at his high school in Oxford, Michigan. Seven people also were wounded.
The Crumbleys are the first parents in the U.S. to be convicted in a mass shooting caused by their child.
Late last year, 17-year-old Ethan Crumbley received a life sentence after pleading guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree murder.
Judge Cheryl Matthews said Tuesday that the parents’ convictions were not about poor parenting but about “ignoring things that would make a reasonable person feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up.”
“These convictions confirm repeated acts, or lack of acts, that could have halted an oncoming runaway train," Matthews said.
The parents did not know that Ethan had taken a handgun — which was freely accessible at home — to school on the day they were called there about a disturbing sketch he had drawn of a gun and wounded man. The sketch included a plea for help.
Hours later Ethan removed the handgun from his backpack and opened fire, killing Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17.
Some information is from The Associated Press and Reuters.
