Oxford High School Shooter’s Father Convicted on Four Counts of Involuntary Manslaughter

The jury’s decision makes him the second parent in U.S. history to be convicted in connection to a school shooting their child carried out.
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oxford high school
Oxford High School photograph courtesy of AP Photo/Paul Sancya

On Thursday, March 14, James Crumbley, the Oxford High School shooter’s father, was found guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the murders his son, Ethan Crumbley, committed in 2021. The convictions come more than two years after the mass shooting that wounded seven and ended the lives of students Madisyn Baldwin (17), Hana St. Juliana (14), Tate Myre (16), and Justin Shilling (17).

The jury’s decision makes him the second parent in U.S. history to be convicted in connection to a school shooting their child carried out — the first being his wife, Jennifer, who was also found guilty on the same four counts in a separate trial this February. The two are currently jailed and awaiting sentencing on April 9, which could carry a minimum of 10 years in prison for each parent, The Associated Press reported.

The jury accepted the prosecution’s case that James Crumbley was “grossly negligent”: James bought Ethan a SIG Sauer 9 mm gun, which Ethan used to commit the mass shooting just four days later; James took improper precautions to secure it and ignored signs that his son was troubled. The prosecutors also said James and Jennifer failed to disclose the gun’s existence while attending a meeting with the school counselor that took place just two hours before the shooting, in which the counselor presented a picture of a gun Ethan had drawn on a school assignment with the words “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me,” the Detroit Free Press reported.

Ethan Crumbley received a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole last December after pleading guilty to a count of terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder, and 19 additional charges.

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