Michigan parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-to-15 years
OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Jennifer and James Crumbley, the first parents to ever be charged and convicted in their child's mass shooting, were both sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison Tuesday.
"With regard to Jennifer Crumbley, it is the sentence of this court, Mrs. Crumbley, that you serve 10-15 years with the Michigan Department of Corrections. As to defendant James Crumbley, it is the sentence of this court that you serve 10-15 years with the Michigan Department of Corrections."
Cheryl Matthews, Circuit Court Judge
The sentencing by Matthews was in line in line with what Oakland County prosecutors had asked for after both parents were found guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each of the students their son, Ethan, killed in the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School.
"I've also learned to never think this could not happen to you - a stereotype that bad kids come from bad parents. The prosecution has tried to mold us into the type of parents society wants to believe are so horrible, only a school or mass shooter could be bred from. This is a very [inaudible] assumption to have. We were good parents. We were the average family. We weren't perfect, but we loved our son and each other tremendously."
Jennifer Crumbley, Ethan Crumbley's mother
"I've also learned to never think this could not happen to you - a stereotype that bad kids come from bad parents. The prosecution has tried to mold us into the type of parents society wants to believe are so horrible, only a school or mass shooter could be bred from. This is a very [inaudible] assumption to have. We were good parents. We were the average family. We weren't perfect, but we loved our son and each other tremendously."
James Crumbley, Ethan Crumbley's father
Ethan, now 17, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
During Tuesday's joint hearing, the Crumbleys heard victim impact statements asking the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
"You say you wouldn't do anything different. Well, that really says on what type of parents you are, because there's a lot of things I would do different. But the one thing I would have wanted to be different was to take that bullet that day, so she could continue to live the life she deserved."
Nicole Beausoleil, Madisyn Baldwin's mother
"You call yourself a victim. The difference between you and Hana, Justin, Tate and Madisyn, you and my family, you and all the students there that day, is that we didn't have a hand in causing this. You caused the most cruel thing I could ever imagine. You guys made loving Hana so painful. This is not a narrative, that is reality."
Reina St. Juliana, Hana St. Juliana's sister
The couple will get credit for time served.
