A judge on Tuesday sentenced Jennifer and James Crumbley to 10 to 15 years in prison after they were convicted of manslaughter charges earlier this year, becoming the first parents to be held criminally liable for a school shooting carried out by their child.
In separate trials earlier this year, juries found the Crumbleys guilty of four counts each of involuntary manslaughter after the couple’s then-15-year-old son, Ethan Crumbley, opened fire at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021. The charges include one for each of the four students killed: Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17.
Judge sentences Crumbleys to 10-15 years in prison
Update 12:45 p.m. EDT April 9: Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews sentenced both the Crumbleys to serve 10 to 15 years in prison each for their roles in the deadly 2021 school shooting carried out by their son.
Before handing down the sentence, Matthews described the “cataclysmic impacts” of the Oxford High School shooting, which claimed four lives and left seven other people injured.
“The advisory sentencing guidelines in this matter do not capture the catastrophic impact of the acts or inaction in these matters,” she said. “The guidelines do not take into account for the complete lack of insight both defendants have for their behavior to this very day. The guidelines do not account for the severity of the circumstances in this matter.”
She added, “In addition to the seven wounded, each of the defendants’ gross negligence has caused unimaginable suffering to hundreds of others as a result of what happened that day. Each act or inaction created a ripple effect, therefore an out of guidelines sentence is appropriate and proportional.”
Prosecutors had asked for a sentence between 10 to 15 years while defense attorneys asked that the Crumbleys be sentenced to time served.
Prosecutor says Crumbleys did not show proper remorse in apologies
Update 12:35 p.m. EDT April 9: Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said that despite statements read in court, the Crumbleys have not held themselves accountable for their role in the shooting carried out by their son.
“I don’t dispute they have grief. I don’t dispute that. That’s not the kind of remorse and accountability these victims are looking for,” McDonald said. “What that looks like is, ‘We messed up. We should have done this and we didn’t, and we are very sorry.’ And that has not happened.”
She said that the Crumbleys were “in the best position” and had “the most knowledge and need to protect other kids” but did nothing.
“They do nothing and then they come here today, and they claim they’re victims — of the school, of the prosecution, of the emotional tensions of public opinion,” she said.
“But there were two long and rigorous and detailed trials that included multiple victims and witnesses who testified under oath with hundreds of exhibits presented to the juries, with the safeguard of this court allowing what they could see and couldn’t see, and they were defended by two attorneys aptly and vigorously — that is what this conviction is about.”
Prosecutors have asked that the Crumbleys be sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in prison.
James Crumbley: ‘I absolutely would have done a lot of things differently’
Update 12:20 p.m. EDT April 9: James Crumbley said that his heart was broken for the families of the four students killed in the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School and that he wished that he had realized his son’s mental health struggles ahead of time.
Prosecutors said James Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, failed to act in the fact of their son’s clearly deteriorating mental health. Both parents have insisted that they didn’t realize how much he was struggling.
To the families in court, James Crumbley said, “I know your pain and loss will never go away. Part of you will be missing forever, but please know that I am truly very sorry.
“I’m sorry for your loss as a result from what my son did. 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, who has worn headphones for court proceedings due to hearing loss, also threw support behind a call shared by Tate Myre’s father, Buck Myre, for a full investigation.
“The whole truth has not been told,” he said. “And I’m with you, Mr. Myre. I too want the truth. Because you have not had it. You have not had the truth at all.”
Jennifer Crumbley apologizes to victims’ families, says her testimony was misunderstood
Update 12:05 p.m. EDT April 9: Jennifer Crumbley spoke after victims delivered impact statements during the sentencing hearing for her and her husband on Tuesday, sharing her “deepest sorrows” for the people slain on Nov. 30, 2021, and their families.
“The gravity and weight this has taken on my heart and soul cannot be expressed into words, just as I know there’s (that) nothing I can say that’s going to ease the pain and suffering of the victims and their families,” she said.
Later, she addressed comments about her testimony during her trial, in which she said that if she could go back she would not have done anything different before the Oxford High School shooting.
“I was horrified to learn my answer, ‘I would not have,’ was completely misunderstood,” she said. “That answer is true because my son did seem so normal, I didn’t have a reason to do anything different. This was not something I foresaw. That was the intention of my answer and how I interpreted the question.”
She said that now, “with the benefit of hindsight and information that I have now, my answer would be drastically different.”
“If I even thought my son could be capable of crimes like these, things would have absolutely been different,” she said, adding, “(Ethan) was not the son I knew when I woke up on November 30. The Ethan I knew was a good, quiet kid. He loved his pets, family vacations. My husband and I used to say that we have the perfect kid.”
She said that any parent could be in the situation her and her husband have found themselves in and described her family as loving and supportive.
“If there’s anything the general public can take away from this, is that this could happen to you too,” she said.
Tate Myre’s father calls for ‘real change’ after Oxford High School shooting
Update 11:55 a.m. EDT April 9: Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, called for more investigation into what led to the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting that claimed the life of his son.
“It’s time to drive real change from this tragedy,” he said.
He declined to address the Crumbleys on Tuesday.
Hana St. Juliana’s father: ‘They blame everyone but themselves’
Update 11:50 a.m. EDT April 9: Steve St. Juliana, the father of 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, asked a judge to give the Crumbleys the maximum possible sentence, saying that they have continued to refuse to take responsibility for their role in the shooting carried out by their son.
“Instead of acknowledging any mistakes, they continue to show no remorse, they take no accountability, they and their lawyers continue to try to change the narrative and portray the defendants as victims of the prosecution team,” he said. “They blame everyone but themselves and make threats of retribution.”
He described the impact Hana’s death has had on his family, saying that her “murder has destroyed a large portion of my very soul.”
“I am a shell of the person I used to be,” he said. “I think of her and miss her constantly. Every day is a battle to attempt to move forward. (I) struggle to get out of bed to go through the motions of everyday life.”
Hana’s sister, Reina St. Juliana, earlier addressed the court.
Sister of Hana St. Juliana: ‘Your actions cannot even be confined to the word “failure”’
Update 11:40 a.m. EDT April 9: Reina St. Juliana said a 15-year maximum sentence for the Crumbleys was not long enough after their son killed her 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana.
“Hana didn’t even have 15 years to live,” she said.
Reina St. Juliana remembered her sister as her “best friend” and “other half,” a giving and funny girl who was “incandescent.”
“Our Japanese grandma would often worry about anything bad happening to us because she knew how dangerous it is here compared to Japan. She told me on FaceTime that Hana would respond with a laugh, saying, ‘Don’t worry, I’m a fast runner. I’ll outrun them,’” she said.
“It wasn’t possible for Hana to outrun the bullets bought by you, Jennifer Crumbley, which were fired by the 9-mm Sig Sauer that you, James, gifted to your son — both used to murder Hana, Justin, Tate and Madisyn. The fact is, no matter what you trying to make yourself believe, Jennifer, you did fail as a parent. Both of you.”
She added that the word “failure” failed to encompass the Crumbleys’ actions.
“Your mistakes created our everlasting nightmare,” she said. “So yes, you are still a danger to society, because even after serving two years you have yet to admit to your wrongdoings, and we know that when we do not learn from our mistakes, we repeat history.”
‘The parents failed their son and, ultimately, the entire community,’ Justin Shilling’s father says
Update 11:35 a.m. EDT April 9: Justin Shilling’s father, Craig Shilling, asked a judge to give the Crumbleys the maximum sentence, pointing to their lack of remorse and the potential they had to prevent the deadly shooting carried out by their son.
He noted that the parents had several opportunities to intervene and prevent the shooting.
“The cold truth ... shows that they did nothing to address the obvious signs of a deteriorating mental state of mind clearly present within their son,” he said. He added that “the very hard truth that shows that they provided their son with exactly what he wanted to use to do what he did.”
Testimony and evidence at trial showed that the Crumbleys bought a gun for their son days before he opened fire at Oxford High School.
“The parents failed their son and, ultimately, the entire community,” he said.
Justin Shilling’s mother: ‘This tragedy was completely preventable’
Update 11:20 a.m. EDT April 9: Jill Soave, the mother of Justin Shilling, remembered her son as “the best son that any mother could pray for.”
“Justin was brave, spending his final moments protecting a fellow student,” she said. “He was hardworking, a lettered athlete, a top honors student. He was kind and inclusive to all. He was full of love and joy. His future was so very bright.”
She asked the judge to sentence the Crumbleys to the maximum penalty available, saying, “This tragedy was completely preventable.”
“You have failed your son and you have failed us all,” she said. “This failure had deadly consequences that can never be undone, that can never be made right.”
Shilling is survived by an older and a younger brother.
Madisyn Baldwin’s mother: ‘”Involuntary” should not be a part of your offense’
Update 11:15 a.m. EDT April 9: Madisyn Baldwin’s mother, Nicole Beausoleil, became emotional in court on Tuesday as she addressed the Crumbleys, remembering her “smart, funny, loving, passionate, determined and genuine” 17-year-old daughter.
Baldwin was one of the four students shot and killed by Ethan Crumbley at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021.
“While your son was hearing voices and asking for help, I was helping Madisyn pick out her senior classes,” she said. “While you were purchasing a gun for your son and leaving it unlocked, I was helping her finish her college essays. While you dropped him off at school, upset that he was failing class, I texted Madisyn ‘Drive safe. It’s slick outside. Have a good day.’”
She said her daughter’s death has torn her family apart and called “the lack of compassion” shown by the Crumbleys’ “outright disgusting”
“Not only did your son kill my daughter, but you both did as well,” she said. “The word ‘involuntary’ should not be a part of your offense. Everything you did that day, months prior and days after were voluntary acts of your son to commit a murder. Not just one, but multiple.”
Baldwin is survived by a younger sister.
Original report: Victim impact statements will be read in court before Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews delivers the Crumbleys’ sentences, The Detroit News reported. The couple, who has been barred from contacting each other, did not immediately make eye contact with one another in court, according to the newspaper.
Prosecutors have asked that both the Crumbleys get sentences between 10 and 15 years, the Detroit Free Press reported. Attorneys for the pair, who have been jailed since their arrest in December 2021, have asked they be sentenced to time served, according to the newspaper.
Authorities said the Crumbleys ignored clear signs of their son’s deteriorating mental health before buying him a gun days before the November 2021 shooting. They failed to keep the gun secured or mitigate the risk he posed to other students, prosecutors said.
Ethan Crumbley, now 17, pleaded guilty in 2022 to two dozen charges, including terrorism and multiple counts of first-degree murder. In January, a judge sentenced him to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole
Prosecutors previously said that social media posts showed that the teen had planned the November 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School in advance. In addition to the four deaths, seven other people were injured.
© 2024 Cox Media Group
