by Scott McClallen
A jury found James Crumbley, the father of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley who killed four students in 2021, guilty of manslaughter.
The jury decided Crumbley was negligent when he bought a 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol four days before the shooting for the 15-year-old with mental health problems who claimed he was seeing “demons.”
Both juries found Ethan’s parents were grossly negligent and could have stopped the school shooting by addressing mental health problems or by safely securing the firearm.
The prosecution argued Ethan asked his parents for mental health help via text messages and drawings but they laughed at him and ignored him.
Jennifer had argued it was her husband’s job to secure the weapon he carried into school to kill four and wound seven others.
On the day of the shooting, Ethan and his parents met with school staff after they found drawings of shootings of violence, blood and guns.
The drawings were alongside the words: “the thoughts won’t stop [sic] help me”, “life is useless”, and “the world is dead.”
Ethan is serving life in prison without parole for killing 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hanna St. Julian, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, and 17-year-old Justin Schilling.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard welcomed the conviction.
“The unconscionable actions of a troubled son and the inexplicably tragic inaction of two adults to exercise even the most basic responsible parenting for their son forever changed four families and the Oxford community,” Bouchard said in a statement.
“There were so many inflection points where they could’ve changed the course of events, including when they refused to bring their child home on the day of the shooting.”
As of February, new laws require gun owners to lock up their firearms when a minor is on the property or expected to be.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi. In 2021, he published a book on technology and privacy. He co-hosts the weekly Michigan in Focus podcast.
