FILE – In this Feb. 8, 2022, photo, Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, a teenager accused of killing four students in a shooting at Oxford High School, appear in court in Rochester Hills, Mich. The Michigan Supreme Court turned down an appeal Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, clearing the way for the parents of the Oxford High School shooter to face trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)
The parents of Michigan high school shooter Ethan Crumbley will have to face manslaughter charges after the state’s highest court rejected the couple’s appeal.
The Michigan Supreme Court rejected Jennifer Crumbley and James Crumbley’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that the Wolverine State’s involuntary manslaughter charges against them in connection with their son’s November 2021 attack on Oxford High School can stand.
“On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the March 23, 2023 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is denied, because we are not persuaded that the question presented should be reviewed by this Court,” the single-sentence ruling said. The justices issued the same order in both cases.
The Crumbleys have fought the Wolverine State’s criminal case every step of the way. Defense attorneys have said that there is not enough of a causal link between the parents’ actions and their son’s attack on the school, and that holding them criminally responsible would set a dangerous precedent.
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According to prosecutors, however, the Crumbleys knew their son was troubled — and in fact, had been called to the school after teachers discovered disturbing and violent drawings he had made in a math workbook. The parents ultimately left the school after meeting with school officials and their son, while Ethan Crumbley stayed behind.
Later that day, he opened fire on his classmates, taking the lives of students Tate Myre, 16 Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17. He used a gun that his parents had allegedly bought for him as a gift just days earlier.
Oakland County Judge Kwame Rowe ruled last week that Ethan Crumbley could potentially face a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The teen pleaded guilty in October 2022 to all 24 charges against him, including murder and terrorism. First-degree murder in Michigan carries a mandatory life sentence, although Rowe could have potentially considered a shorter term because of the defendant’s age when he carried out the attack.
The court docket does not indicate that a trial date for Jennifer Crumbley and James Crumbley has been set.
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