Courtesy photos
Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, are charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
James and Jennifer Crumbley must stand trial for the deadly mass shooting at Oxford High School, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
The Crumbleys bought their then-15-year-old son, Ethan Crumbley, a gun as a Christmas gift that he used to kill four of his classmates and wound seven others in November 2021.
The Crumbleys are charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors allege the parents knew their son was troubled for years when they bought him the gun. They also failed to divulge that their son had a gun when they were called to the school after a teacher found a note that included a drawing of a gun, blood, and the words, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”
Instead of taking their son home for the day, they urged school officials to keep him in class.
Their attorney argued there was not enough evidence to warrant a trial.
A three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals disagreed, saying there was probable cause to believe the Crumbleys could have foreseen the consequences of buying their troubled son a gun.
“One of the few reasonably foreseeable outcomes of failing to secure the firearm that was gifted to [Ethan Crumbley] was that it would be accessible to [Ethan Crumbley] and that, in his mentally deteriorated condition, he might use it in unlawful ways,” Judge Christopher Murray wrote. “We acknowledge defendants’ argument that no parent could reasonably foresee their child committing a mass shooting. But these issues are based on the facts and what is reasonably foreseeable under an objective standard, and the circumstances defendants were presented with on November 30, 2021, provided a heightened set of warnings that could lead a jury to find causation.”
In October 2022, Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including terrorism causing death and first-degree murder. The 16-year-old faces up to life in prison.
The Crumbleys faces four charges of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of Justin Shilling, 17; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Hana St. Juliana, 14.
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