In 2021, Ethan Crumbley emerged from a bathroom, pulled a gun from his backpack at school, and killed four students.
A Michigan jury convicted the mother of a school shooter of involuntary manslaughter in a trial, the first of its kind, to determine whether she had any responsibility in the 2021 killings of four students.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that Jennifer Crumbley was negligent in not telling Oxford High School that the family owned weapons, including a 9mm pistol that her son, Ethan, used in the Nov. 30 attack.
Crumbley, 45, faced four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each of the victims. Her husband, James, 47, will face her trial next month.
Oakland County prosecutors argued during the trial that the mother, despite not pulling the trigger, negligently stored the gun and ammunition and should therefore be held criminally responsible for the deaths.
They said she and her husband knew Ethan was mentally “downward spiral” and posed a danger to others, but they allowed him access to the fateful gun.
They added that under Michigan law, Crumbley had a duty to prevent his son, who was 15 at the time, from harming others.
But Shannon Smith, Crumbley's attorney, argued that she was not responsible for purchasing or storing the gun used by her son and that there were no warning signs that he would harm his classmates or that a crime was being committed.
Crumbley testified in her own defense during the trial, saying her husband was responsible for safely storing firearms at home and that her son had been eager to attend college.
During Smith's closing arguments, she asked the jury, made up of six men and six women, including some gun owners, to find her client not guilty because her son's crimes were “unforeseeable.”
“Can every parent really be responsible for everything their children do?” -Smith asked.
school shooting
On the morning of the school shooting, staff members who were concerned about Ethan's drawing of a gun, a bullet, and a wounded man next to the words “Blood everywhere,” “My life is useless,” and “The Thoughts won't stop: help.” me”, on his math homework, he met the Crumbleys.
According to prosecutors, Ethan's parents were told he needed counseling and that they should take him home, but the couple resisted taking him and did not search his bag or ask about the gun.
However, Jennifer disputed that account, telling jurors that they had mutually agreed that Ethan could remain at school that day and that they did not believe he posed a danger to other students.
Hours later, Ethan emerged from a bathroom, pulled a gun from his backpack, and shot at 10 students and a teacher, killing four students.
The weapon used was a 9mm Sig Sauer that his father, James, had purchased just four days earlier. Jennifer had also taken her son to a shooting range that weekend.
Ethan, now 17, pleaded guilty to murder and “terrorism” and is serving a life sentence.
