By ED WHITE (Associated Press)
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — The father of a Michigan school shooter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on Thursday, which is the second conviction against the parents of the teenager. They were accused of failing to properly secure a gun at home and not addressing signs of his mental distress.
The jury's decision means James Crumbley, without physically pulling the trigger, is now considered responsible for the deaths of four students at Oxford High School in 2021.
The parents had separate trials and are the first in the United States to face charges in a mass school shooting committed by their child. Jennifer Crumbley was previously convicted of involuntary manslaughter in February.
The verdicts, one for each of the four victims, were delivered around 7:15 p.m. after a full day of deliberations.
Throughout the trial, James Crumbley listened to the outcome through headphones due to a hearing problem. He shook his head from side to side as the jury foreman declared him “guilty.”
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,” Judge Cheryl Matthews told the jury consisting of six men and six women. “I understand how difficult this has been for all of you.”
During the trial, prosecutors emphasized two key points: the parents' reaction to a disturbing drawing found on Ethan Crumbley’s math assignment a few hours before the shooting, and the teenager's access to a Sig Sauer 9 mm handgun obtained by James Crumbley just four days prior.
Ethan drew a disturbing picture of a gun and an injured man on his math assignment, along with unsettling phrases, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me. My life is useless.”
Despite this, James and Jennifer Crumbley chose not to take Ethan home after a brief meeting at the school, and the staff did not insist on it. A counselor, concerned about suicidal thoughts, advised them to seek help for their son within 48 hours.
Ethan had confided in Shawn Hopkins that he was upset about the passing of his dog and grandmother, as well as the departure of a friend. He stated that the drawing was simply related to a video game and he had no intention of engaging in violence.
Neither Ethan nor his parents informed school officials about the recently purchased gun, as mentioned in the trial testimonies.
Hopkins had hoped that Ethan would spend the day with his parents. However, when that was not possible, the counselor believed that the teen would likely be safer around others at school.
Later on, Ethan retrieved the Sig Sauer from his backpack and started shooting on the same day, resulting in the deaths of Justin Shilling, 17; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Tate Myre, 16. Nobody had checked his bag, although a school administrator had joked about its weight.
Prosecutor Karen McDonald informed the jury, “James Crumbley is not being tried for his son's actions. He is being tried for what he did and didn’t do.”
She stated that he cannot avoid accountability just because another person pulled the trigger.
Hopkins told the jury that James Crumbley displayed compassion towards his son during the discussion about the drawing, but took no further action.
Upon hearing about the shooting, James Crumbley promptly returned home from his DoorDash job and looked for the gun.
“I believe my son took the gun,” he said in a panicked 911 call.
Investigators discovered an empty gun case and empty ammunition box on the parents’ bed. A cord that could have secured the gun was still in its original packaging, unopened.
Ethan admitted to a judge when he pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism that the gun was not locked when he placed it in his backpack before school.
Defense lawyer Mariell Lehman tried to stress that James Crumbley did not agree to his son accessing the gun.
“He was not aware that he had to protect others from his son,” she told jurors. “He did not know that it was reasonably expected that his son would commit these offenses. He had no idea what his son was planning to do.”
There was no expert testimony about Ethan’s mental health, and no records were presented. The boy’s attorneys stated before trial that he would invoke his right to remain silent if called to testify.
But the judge allowed the jury to see excerpts from the teenager’s handwritten journal.
“I have zero help for my mental problems and it’s causing me to shoot up the … school,” Ethan wrote. “I want help but my parents don’t listen to me so I can’t get any help.”
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