The parents of convicted Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley were each sentenced Tuesday to 10-15 years in prison for their role in the deaths of four high school students in 2021.
James and Jennifer Crumbley are the first parents in the U.S. to be charged and sentenced with having criminal responsibility for the 2021 mass school shooting at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich.
The Crumbleys were found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter at separate trials earlier this year in Oakland County Court — about 40 miles north of Detroit.
Ethan Crumbley, now 17, pleaded guilty in 2022 to 24 charges and is serving multiple life sentences.
Prosecutors said the parents did not properly store a gun and could have prevented the shooting by removing their then-15-year-old from school when officials raised concerns about a drawing he included on a school assignment.
The artwork depicted a gun with the words, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.” School staff asked the Crumbleys to take their son home for the day and seek counseling for him, but they declined.
Ethan told a counselor he was upset after his grandmother died and a friendly moved away suddenly, later claiming the drawing was him showing interest in video game creation, The Associated Press reported.
School officials sent him back to class later that day without checking his backpack, which contained a hidden handgun.
Crumbley later shot 10 students and one teacher. Four students — Justin Shilling, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, and Hana St. Juliana — were killed.
While the parents were not accused of having prior knowledge of his plans, prosecutors argued Jennifer Crumbley knew the drawing of the gun was identical to the firearm they had at home and knew it was not stored properly.
The couple appeared in court Tuesday for sentencing, but first heard a victim impact statement from Nicole Beausoleil — Baldwin’s mother. Jill Soave and Craig Shilling, the mother and father of another victim, and Reina St. Juliana, the sister of St. Juliana, also spoke in court, CBS News reported.
Prosecutors requested at least a 10-year prison sentence for the parents, per the AP. The maximum sentence for their conviction is 15 years.
The Crumbleys are expected to now be eligible for parole consideration, and they will get credit for the nearly two and half years they have already spent in jail.
The parents fled the area days after prosecutors announced charges against them. They were later found holed up in an art studio in Detroit after a business owner recognized the license plate and called police.
Defense lawyers argued that the couple planned to surrender but were at the studio for their own safety, but the judge sided with prosecutors, who contended the parents intentionally avoided police.
Defense attorney Shannon Smith argued Crumbley’s mother is “not a threat to the community,” claiming that her imprisonment “does nothing to further deter others from committing like offenses,” the AP reported.
Mariell Lehman, James Crumbley’s lawyer, reportedly told the judge that the couple has already spent enough time in custody.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.