(ReliableNews.org) – Ethan Crumbley was 15 years old in 2021 when he walked into Oxford High School in Michigan and murdered four students. He has pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in the case. In a twist, prosecutors have also charged his parents and they just lost a major fight.
On September 29, the Michigan Supreme Court determined Jennifer and James Crumbley could be charged with involuntary manslaughter. They are the first parents in American history to be charged after their child carried out a mass shooting at school. The state’s highest court opted to not hear the Crumbleys’ appeal, allowing the cases against them to move forward. The justices issued a one-paragraph order that said they were “not persuaded that the question should be reviewed” by their court.
The Crumbleys went on the run after their son’s school rampage. They were captured after someone saw them hiding in a Michigan building. Prosecutors charged them with involuntary manslaughter after authorities said they found evidence showing the parents were grossly negligent. They reportedly bought their son the gun he used to murder his classmates just days before the murders.
According to the state, text messages showed the teenager spoke to his parents about his deteriorating mental state and they were concerned about it for months. On the day of the shooting, the parents and shooter met with school officials about violent drawings he’d created at school. Nobody checked his backpack and his parents refused to take him home — he opened fire that afternoon.
Before the parents fled, they allegedly took a receipt that showed they purchased the gun for their son. The receipt was on them when they were captured. Prosecutors said it proved they had “consciousness of guilt.”
The Crumbleys are each facing 15 years in prison. Another judge recently ruled that their son can be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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