Two months after her son was sentenced to life in prison, a jury has found Jennifer Crumbley guilty, ABC News reports.
Jennifer is the mom of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley. Jennifer was found guilty involuntary manslaughter in connection with the school shooting that claimed the lives of four student, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, Justin Shilling, 17, and Hana St. Juliana, 14 in November 2021.
The jury deliberated for roughly 11 hours before coming to this “unprecedented verdict,” NBC News reports. Jennifer is expected to be sentenced on April 9.
BREAKING: A Michigan jury has found Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, guilty of all four counts of involuntary manslaughter. pic.twitter.com/8MqB0SW3Uh
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 6, 2024
UPDATE: After admitting to the court that he was “a really bad person,” Ethan Crumbley’s fate has been sealed. After several witnesses and victims involved in the 2021 school shooting testified during the sentencing hearing, Crumbley claimed that he was trying to do better in life but added, “I have done terrible things that no one should ever do.”
He was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Last year, Crumbley pleaded guilty to 4 counts of first-degree murder, a count of terrorism causing death, and 19 other charges.
During a bond hearing in January 2022, prosecutors revealed that Ethan Crumbley and his parents ignored signs. As Mamas Uncut previously reported, the 15-year-old sophomore from Oxford High School opened fire with his father’s handgun on November 30.
Crumbley’s actions claimed the lives of four people and injured several more. The victims have been identified as Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, and Justin Shilling, 17.
Crumbley had been charged as an adult with murder, terrorism, assault, and weapons possession charges. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald also charged Ethan Crumbley’s parents with involuntary manslaughter as well.
According to The New York Post, Crumbley was allegedly bullied and used his father’s 9mm Sig Sauer which was purchased just four days before. Ethan’s mother shared a photo of the gun on social media, describing it as her son’s “new Christmas present,” while Ethan called it, “my new beauty.”
Prosecution Says Ethan Crumbley’s Parents Ignored Son’s Disturbing Actions and Hallucinations in the Months Leading Up to the School Shooting
Now prosecutors are revealing that the Crumbley family ignored signs that Ethan “was gravely troubled.” According to Fox 2, Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast said Ethan’s parents James and Jennifer Crumbley “failed to perform their parental duties” over several months.
As Keast revealed during the hearing, text messages dating back to March 2021 revealed that Ethan was suffering from hallucinations. Text messages from Ethan to his mom revealed that “he thought there was a demon, a ghost, or someone else inside the home.”
However, while Ethan mentioned these demons several times in various different text messages, Jennifer would often wait hours before responding to her son. Keast said Ethan Crumbley never attempted to hide his struggles and violent tendencies from his parents.
From videos of him torturing animals to keeping the severed heads of birds in jars in his room for months, Keast said it was all out in the open and something Ethan’s parents should have been aware of and gotten their son help.
“The evidence shows a 15-year-old who has repeatedly informed his parent that he was hallucinating, the same 15-year-old who continuously demonstrated tendencies that were worrisome – all able to be found by his parents,” Keast said. “His parents obviously knew what had been directly told to them, but they did not intervene. They did not schedule therapy. They did not investigate what might be in his room, on his phone, or his browser history.”
In addition to Ethan’s mental wellness, he also had access to several weapons. The prosecution also alleges that he had joked about carrying out a school shooting back in August 2021.
Keast claims that Ethan sent one of his friends a photo of him holding one of his father’s loaded guns. Ethan later told his friend, “It’s time shoot up the school JK JK JK.”
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Ethan’s parents were aware of their son’s mental illnesses. Shortly after the school shooting occurred, it was revealed via public text messages sent by the mother to Ethan, that his thoughts and actions were never taken seriously.
Shortly before the shooting occurred, according to WAAY 31, one of Ethan’s teachers found him searching for ammunition on his phone during class the day before the shooting. After reporting it to school officials, Jennifer was contacted.
While Jennifer never responded to the school about their concerns, she did text her son about it. “Jennifer Crumbley exchanged text messages about the incident with her son on that day, stating, quote, ‘LOL, I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.’ End quote,” McDonald revealed an earlier statement.
On the day of the shooting, a teacher discovered a note on Ethan’s desk that shook her to the core. “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me,” Ethan reportedly wrote along with a drawing of a gun. Another drawing depicted a bullet with the words “blood everywhere.”
During a meeting with the school, Jennifer and James were told to get Ethan counseling within 48 hours. After their meeting, the parents left the school while Ethan was sent back to class.
According to Keast, Ethan Crumbley was allegedly sent back to class because his parents said they had to work and could be home with him. “We later learned that Jennifer Crumbley’s employer would have gladly given her the day off, and she didn’t have any meetings scheduled until later in the day,” Keast said.
Shortly thereafter, Ethan opened fire.
Another text message from Jennifer to Ethan read, “Ethan, don’t do it.” And James called 911 to report the gun missing and to tell authorities his son might be the shooter.
Jennifer and James Crumbley are currently being held on are being held on $500,000 cash/surety bonds. The judge denied their request for their bond to be reduced to $100,000.
Prosecutors argued that both Jennifer and James are flight risks and the judge agreed. Ethan Crumbley’s case will go straight to trial after he waived his preliminary hearing. A date for the trial has not yet been set.