A Michigan jury on Thursday reached a guilty verdict on four counts of involuntary manslaughter in the trial of James Crumbley, father of school shooter Ethan Crumbley, who faced charges stemming from his teenage son's decision to open fire on Oxford High School in November 2021.
James Crumbley, 47, and Jennifer Crumbley, 45, were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter following the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting during which 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.
"This is a historic case," criminal defense attorney Keith Johnson told Fox News Digital, "because the prosecutors are seeking to hold a parent responsible for the actions of a child … the violent actions that led to the death of other children. And so this is a test case to see the limits of parents' responsibility for the actions of their children who are of a high school age."
Johnson added that the trials for James and Jennifer Crumbley "could definitely lead to prosecutors throughout the country taking a similar strategy and holding parents and guardians responsible if weapons are brought to the home and are used in these types of mass-shooting incidents." The Crumbleys are the first parents in U.S. history to stand trial for a mass school shooting.
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James Crumbley on Wednesday declined to testify during his trial, as his wife did in February during her separate trial. Jennifer was found guilty on all four counts and is set to be sentenced in April.
Several witnesses who testified during Jennifer's trial have also testified in James' trial.
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On Wednesday, jurors heard from James Crumbley's sister, who testified on her brother's behalf. Karen Crumbley, a Florida mother of four, said she did not feel anything was "wrong" in the Crumbley household when she visited Michigan in the summer of 2021.
"If I would've known anything, I would've talked to [Ethan], would have [taken] him home with me if there was any kind of inclination that anything was wrong," Karen said, adding later that there was "nothing" she was "concerned about" as it related to her brother or Ethan.
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Jurors on Tuesday also heard from Oakland County Sheriff's Office Det. Adam Stoyek, who searched the Crumbleys' house after the Oxford High School shooting and spoke with James about his firearms. Stoyek also testified during Jennifer's trial.
Stoyek said he walked through the Crumbleys' home with James after the shooting. James showed him a .22-caliber Derringer and a .22-caliber KelTec, both of which had locks set to the default code of 0-0-0.
Oxford police said Ethan used a 9mm Sig Sauer to shoot up Oxford High School. James purchased the firearm, which contained several rounds of ammunition when authorities recovered it, for his then-15-year-old son just days before the massacre.
It remains unclear how exactly Ethan got access to the gun and brought it to school in his backpack on Nov. 30, 2021, but Stoyek testified that James never mentioned anything about the Sig Sauer being locked prior to the shooting.
"I think the question becomes: what is a parent reasonably supposed to do to secure a firearm or a weapon or let authorities know that their child is having certain thoughts or certain ideations of violence?" Johnson said of how the Crumbley case will set a precedent for other parents. "So, I believe that it must be on a case-by-case basis."
Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism last year. He is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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, 2021, 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.
Instead of taking their son home, prosecutors said, James and Jennifer left him at school and went about their day.
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"This case is not about holding James Crumbley responsible for what his son did," Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said in court on Wednesday. "It’s about his legal duty and his failure to perform it."
She added later that James "did nothing" when "presented with the easiest, most glaring opportunities to prevent the deaths of four students."
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.
James Crumbley is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9 at 9 a.m.
