James and Jennifer Crumbley, parents of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, are set to be sentenced on Tuesday.
Two separate juries found both James and Jennifer guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting on Nov. 30, 2021, when their then-15-year-old son killed students Tate Myre, 16; Justin Shilling, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and left seven other victims injured.
In his first and last statement addressing the court Tuesday, James Crumbley apologized to the victims’ families.
“I really want the families of Madisyn Baldwin, Hannah St. Juliana, Tate Myre and Justin Schilling to know how truly, how much, how truly sorry I am and how devastated I was when I heard what happened to them,” James said. “I have cried for you and the loss of your children more times than I can count. 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.”
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James’ statement concluded with a loud declaration that the court did not know the whole truth about the shooting: “The whole truth has not been told. And I’m with you. … I too want the truth. You have not had it. You have not had the truth at all.”
Jennifer also expressed remorse in her statement, saying, “I’ve taken countless nights in lament over the anguish and shame I carry, knowing what my son did — the harm he caused to innocent lives, the families and to the entire Oxford community,” Jennifer said in a statement before the court.
The pair appeared together in court for the first time since before their cases began together and were eventually separated. Prosecutors are asking for 10 to 15 years in prison for both parents, who asked for time served.
The parents of Ethan Crumbley are asking a judge to keep them out of prison as they face sentencing for their role in an attack that killed four students in 2021. (Carlos Osorio)
The parents’ trials have been described as historic, as they are the first parents of a school shooter in U.S. history to be tried for their child’s crimes. Ethan Crumbley’s case was also considered historic because he pleaded guilty to a terrorism charge on top of murder charges. The now-18-year-old will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole.
James Crumbley declined to testify during his own trial after his wife took the stand about a month before his trial began.
At one point during her trial, Jennifer said she “wouldn’t have” done anything differently if given the chance.
WATCH JENNIFER CRUMBLEY’S TESTIMONY:
“Of course, I look back after all this happened, and I have asked myself if I would have done anything differently. I wouldn’t have,” Jennifer testified, adding that she wishes her son would have killed her and her husband, James Crumbley, “instead.”
On Tuesday, Jennifer clarified her testimony.
JENNIFER CRUMBLEY TRIAL: MICHIGAN JURY FINDS SCHOOL SHOOTER’S MOM GUILTY OF INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER
The Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford High School killed Tate Myre, 16; Justin Shilling, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and left seven other victims injured. (Eric Seals-USA Today Network)
“When I was on the stand, I was aksed if I would have done anything different. I was horrified to learn my answer ‘I would not have’ was completely misunderstood. 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. … But with the benefit of hindsight and information I have now, my answer would be drastically different. If I even thought my son would be capable of crimes like these, things would have absolutely been different.”
“He was not the son I knew when I woke up on Nov. 30,” she added.
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Video showing Jennifer Crumbley, left, with her son Ethan Crumbley at a gun range on Nov. 27, 2021, for target practice, is shown in the courtroom during Jennifer Crumbley’s trial, Jan. 25, 2024, in Pontiac, Michigan. (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP, Pool)
Ethan used a 9 mm SIG Sauer, which his father purchased for him, to shoot up Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021. The firearm contained several rounds of ammunition when authorities recovered it. Jennifer posted about the purchase on social media, calling it a Christmas gift for her teenage son, just days before the massacre.
Photos showed shooting range targets with bullet holes hung up in Ethan’s messy bedroom, which had clutter strewn all over the floor and on his bed. (Oakland County court)
Prosecutors have suggested the Crumbleys could have stopped the shooting before it happened when they arrived at Oxford High on the morning of Nov. 30 to meet with school counselors after Ethan was caught scrawling disturbing notes in class.
His notes included an image of a gun and the phrases “Help me,” “Blood everywhere” and “My life is useless,” along with a drawing of a gun.
But the parents turned away after the meeting, leaving their son at school while they went back to work. Ethan later pulled a firearm out of his backpack, fatally shooting four students and injuring seven others. The shooting has resulted in several civil lawsuits against the Crumbley parents and school administrators, alleging that they failed to prevent the shooting.
Ethan Crumbley stands with his attorneys, Paulette Loftin and Amy Hopp, during his hearing at Oakland County Circuit Court, Aug. 1, 2023, in Pontiac, Michigan. (Clarence Tabb Jr./Detroit News via AP, Pool, File)
Prosecutors have pointed to Ethan’s journal entries, text messages and videos saying he wanted help and his parents were ignoring him. The day before the school massacre, Ethan made a 19-minute video describing what he was going to do the next day, prosecutors said during Jennifer’s trial.
After the shooting, the Crumbleys allegedly fled Oxford and went to Detroit with $6,000 in cash following some initial questioning from police. U.S. Marshals eventually apprehended them days later, on Dec. 4, 2021.
In a powerful victim impact statement during Tuesday’s sentencing, Madisyn Baldwin’s mother, Nicole Beausoleil, compared her actions on Nov. 30, 2021, to the Crumbleys’ actions.
The four deceased victims of the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford High School are Schilling, Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin. (Oakland County Sheriff’s Office)
“While your son was hearing voices and asking for help, I was helping Madisyn pick out her senior class. While you were purchasing a gun for your son and leaving it unlocked, I was helping to finish 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.’ When you got a call to meet at the school about your son and how it interfered with your day, I was rearranging my schedule so I could take Madison to get her oil change for the first time,” she said.
Beausoleil continued: “When you walked out of the office with a steady pace after hearing an active shooter, I ran from my home and started driving, trying not to break the law. When you are on the phone for ten minutes with each other, trying to figure out where the gun was, I was on the phone with her father and family, trying to figure out where she was. Would you left the Meyers without knowing where your son was, I was desperately trying to get there as soon as possible. When you knew the gun was missing, you called the police, knowing it was your son who took it, I was having family call every hospital describing what she looked like. When you texted Ethan, ‘Don’t do it,’ I was texting Madisyn ,’ I love you. Please call mom.'”
Reina St. Juliana, Hana St. Juliana’s sister, said in her victim impact statement that instead of giving their son love and compassion, James and Jennifer Crumbley bought him a gun that he used to kill Hana, Madisyn, Tate and Justin.