Father of Michigan School Shooter Found Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter

James Crumbley, who bought the gun his son used to kill four students in a Michigan school shooting, was found guilty of manslaughter on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. His conviction comes just weeks after his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was convicted of identical charges.

Their separate trials marked the first time a U.S. jury convicted a parent for a mass shooting carried out by their child. The Crumbleys were accused of purchasing the handgun their son, Ethan Crumbley, used during the shooting, ignoring his mental health needs, and failing to inform the school that they purchased a gun for their son during a meeting about his behavior hours before the shooting. 

On Nov. 30, 2021, Ethan, who was 15 at the time, walked into Oxford High School and fatally shot Hana St. Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, Justin Shilling, 17, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17. Six more students and a faculty member were wounded.

Ethan pleaded guilty to 24 charges stemming from the shooting, including the first-degree murders of his schoolmates. He was sentenced last year to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

James, who was convicted in the same Pontiac courtroom as his wife, has been jailed since December 2021. Both parents will be sentenced later and faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.

“James Crumbley is not on trial for what his son did,” county prosecutor Karen McDonald told the jury Wednesday. “James Crumbley is on trial for what he did and for what he didn’t do.” She added, he “doesn’t get a pass because somebody else” pulled the trigger.

James’s attorney Mariell Lehman said he “obviously feels terrible” about the tragedy. “While we are disappointed with the verdict, we know that the jury had a very difficult task in front of them,” she told AP.

One of the victim’s father, Steve St. Juliana, spoke at a news conference on Thursday following the verdict. After thanking the prosecutors and law enforcement on the case, he said, “But we’re not done.”

St. Juliana continued, “There is so much more that absolutely must be done. It’s crazy the way that our society is currently reacting to this. Our children are dying on a daily basis in mass murders, and we do very little about it. We complain about Second Amendment rights, or we say, ‘There’s not enough money for mental health issues.’ You name it and they’ll be an argument against it. It’s the number one killer of our kids, folks.”