Parents of Ethan Crumbley, accused of Oxford school shooting, must be tried for manslaughter, court says

(CNN) — The parents of the Oxford High School shooter could face trial on four counts of manslaughter for the four deaths their son Ethan Crumbley caused in a November 2021 school shooting; an outlier case that could set a precedent, as ruled by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

The parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have argued that the charges have no legal justification and that they should not be held responsible for their son’s murders.

In a written opinion filed Thursday, a panel of state appeals court judges acknowledged the potentially precedent-setting nature of this case, holding parents accountable for the crimes of a minor, but called the situation unique and unusual. .

“We share the defendants’ concern that this decision may apply in the future to parents whose situation, namely their child’s intentional conduct, is not as closely related, and/or the warning signs and the evidence were not as substantial as they are here,” the panel wrote.

The opinion said those concerns are “significantly lessened” by the fact that Crumbley’s actions “were reasonably foreseeable, and that is the final test that must be applied.”

In the ruling, the judges cited text messages in which Crumbley told his parents that he was experiencing paranoia and hallucinations, including his belief that there was a demon in the house.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Michael Riordan also noted that the case was exceptional because of how clearly Crumbley was contemplating violence, and the fact that his parents provided him with a firearm anyway.

“Our legal system does not criminally punish people for unsatisfactory, bizarre, or eccentric parenting, nor should it criminally punish people, nor does it require that children be deprived of any instrument that is otherwise legal to possess and use. Furthermore, I suspect that parents do not reasonably assume, as a matter of course, that their children will commit violent crimes,” Riordan wrote.

“However, before us is this unusual case. EC was extraordinarily disturbed, yet the defendants provided him with a gun, and despite having discreet and disturbing evidence that EC contemplated harming others, he did nothing when confronted with that evidence.”

Jennifer and James Crumbley can appeal the decision to the Michigan Supreme Court, which previously ruled they should be subject to trial.

Parents were charged after their son killed four classmates

Ethan Crumbley, 15 years old at the time, shot and killed four students and wounded six students and a teacher at his Michigan high school in November 2021. pleaded guilty in October on terrorism and homicide charges. A hearing has been set for May 1 where a circuit court judge will consider whether Crumbley, a juvenile prosecuted as an adult, could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were also arrested days after the shooting following a chase that led authorities to a Detroit warehouse. Accused of providing their son easy access to a firearm and of ignoring warning signs, the couple were charged with four counts of manslaughter.

Prosecutors have argued that the Crumbleys “willfully ignored the needs and well-being of their son and the threat he posed to others.” In a December 2021 court filing, they said the parents knew their son was depressed and “fascinated” with guns.

On the day of the shooting, the school officials met with James and Jennifer Crumbley after discovering disturbing drawings his son made of guns and the words: “Thoughts won’t stop helping me.” The school advised parents to provide counseling for their child within 48 hours. But the parents refused to take their son out of school and he went back to the classroom.

According to statements by Ethan Crumbley in court, she recovered a gun from an unlocked bin at her home, hid it in her backpack, and took it out of her bag in a bathroom before opening fire on her classmates.

James Crumbley bought the gun used by his son just four days before the massacre, according to the prosecutors.

Lawyers for Crumbley’s parents previously indicated they would want their son to testify in their defense should their case go to trial.