A jury on Tuesday found a Michigan mother guilty of manslaughter over a school mass shooting carried out by her teenage son in an unprecedented and closely watched case
Jennifer Crumbley, 45, and her husband James, 47, are the first parents of a school shooter to face felony manslaughter charges in the United States for the actions of their child.
Jennifer Crumbley was convicted of all four counts of involuntary manslaughter facing her after a jury in Pontiac, Michigan, deliberated for about a day and a half.
She is to be sentenced on April 9 and could face up to 15 years in prison. Her husband is to be tried separately in March.
Ethan Crumbley, their 17-year-old son, is serving a life sentence for the November 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford High School which left four students dead
The Crumbleys bought their son the 9mm SIG Sauer handgun he used to carry out the attack and were accused of ignoring warnings that he had mental health struggles.
In closing arguments, prosecutor Karen McDonald told the jury that Jennifer Crumbley failed to “exercise ordinary care when the smallest, tragically simple thing could have prevented it.”
“She could have locked the ammunition. She could have locked the gun,” McDonald said. “She could have told the school they had just gifted him a gun.
“She could have told the school about her son being in crisis previously and asking for help
Defence attorney Shannon Smith countered that Crumbley cannot be held accountable for the actions of her son.
“No one could have expected this,” Smith said. “Can every parent really be responsible for everything their children do?”
“This case is a very dangerous one for parents out there,” she added
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