The jury in the manslaughter trial of Jennifer Crumbley has found the school shooter’s mother guilty on all counts.
Crumbley, 45, was convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of her son Ethan in November 2021, in which he shot 11 people and killed four.
While prosecutors portrayed her as a reckless and neglectful mother, the trial uncovered humiliating revelations about Crumbley’s private life, in which she admitted to having an affair with a local fire chief and recruiting strangers for sex parties in hotels around the time of the tragedy .
The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 60 years in prison, and Crumbley is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
Her husband James is due to stand trial in March.
Jennifer Crumbley (left) hugs her attorney Shannon Smith on Friday before closing arguments in her groundbreaking case
Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to his crimes and is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole after killing four classmates during the 2021 Oxford High School shooting
James and Jennifer Crumbley were both charged in connection with their son’s shooting, the first time parents have been charged in connection with a school shooting
The case was seen as a legal turning point in the prosecution of America’s school shooting crisis, opening the door for parents of teenage shooters to be charged more regularly in the future.
Crumbley’s trial focused on her relationship with her troubled son and the numerous warning signs she ignored before he murdered four classmates and shot seven others.
In two days of successful testimony, Crumbley took the stand in her own defense and tried to combat claims that she was a “negligent” mother.
But her claims that she and Ethan were “close” were rejected by prosecutors, who presented a raft of evidence showing that she recklessly rejected her son’s pleas for mental health help.
Among the damning evidence were the last diary entries Ethan had written before the shooting, in which he wrote, “My parents won’t listen to me about help or therapist.”
“I have no help for my mental issues and it’s making me shoot up the damn school,” another post read.
Crumbley’s claims that they were a “close” family also came just a day after her extramarital affair was exposed in court, as prosecutors alleged she was focused on her appointment with a fire chief about her disturbed son.
On Wednesday, Jennifer’s extramarital affair with Fire Chief Brian Meloche came to light
In one of Ethan Crumbley’s diary entries shown on Thursday, Ethan wrote: ‘I don’t have any help for my mental problems and it’s making me shoot up the damn school’
“I want help but my parents don’t listen to me so I can’t get help,” read another post
Leading up to the shooting, Ethan showed a number of alarming warning signs that predicted his violent, unhinged mentality.
Earlier this year, the then 15-year-old had frantically texted his mother saying he thought he was being chased by a demon, which he thought was objects being thrown across the room.
After his desperate attempts to get his mother’s attention were ignored, Ethan texted her, “At least text me back…”
Prosecutors said the teen’s antics were evidence of his loss of grip on reality and a cry for help, but Jennifer tried to downplay the episode in her testimony.
The testimony was blasted by many online due to her callous response to certain pieces of evidence and the lack of much mention of her son’s victims.
She claimed that Ethan’s warnings were typical of her ‘sarcastic’ son who was ‘making fun’, and joked that he called the ghost ‘Boris Johnson’.
“He has been convinced our house is haunted since 2015,” she added.
Police say Crumbley’s first victim was freshman Phoebe Arthur (pictured), who was shot in the face but miraculously survived. A total of thirteen people were shot, four of whom were killed
Madisyn Baldwin, 17, (left) and Hana St Juliana, 14, (right) died during the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit
Justin Shilling, 17, (left) and Tate Myre, 16, (right) also died in the senseless shooting
When the evidence focused on Crumbley’s actions on the day of the mass shooting, she was criticized for her decision not to pick Ethan up from school after she was brought in for an alarming meeting.
That morning, a teacher found disturbing drawings and writing on his homework, scrawling “the thoughts don’t stop, help me” next to images of mass shootings.
With a gun bought by his father stashed in his backpack, the parents refused to take him home – with Jennifer’s claim that she was too busy at work refuted in testimony from her boss.