Michigan School Shooter’s Parents Face Sentencing on Involuntary Manslaughter Case

PONTIAC, Mich. (NEWSnet/AP) — The parents of the Oxford High School shooter face sentencing for their role in the 2021 attack in Michigan in which four students were killed.

Jennifer and James Crumbley are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for the close of a pioneering case: They are the first parents convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting.

The Crumbleys did not know their son, Ethan Crumbley, was planning the shooting at Oxford High School. But prosecutors said the parents failed to safely store a gun and could have prevented the shooting by removing the 15-year-old from school when confronted with his dark drawing that day.

Prosecutors are seeking at least 10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. The couple had separate trials in Oakland County court, 40 miles north of Detroit.

Defense attorney Shannon Smith said “any gross negligence” were mistakes “that any parent could make.”

Ethan Crumbley, now 17, pleaded guilty and is serving a life prison sentence.

Prosecutors said “tragically simple actions” by both parents could have stopped the catastrophe.

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Original article: https://www.newsnetmedia.com/story/50651160/michigan-school-shooters-parents-face-sentencing-on-involuntary-manslaughter-case