PONTIAC, MI — Jurors will hear opening statements and the first group of witnesses Thursday in the trial of the second parent accused of being responsible for a Michigan school shooting committed by his son.
James Crumbley, 47, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each teen killed by Ethan Crumbley at Oxford High School in 2021.
The father is accused of failing to safely store a gun and ammunition at home and ignoring the mental health care of his son, who was 15 at the time of the shooting.
Attorneys picked a jury Wednesday after nearly two days of asking people for their opinions on guns, mental illness and the challenges of raising teenagers. The judge also wanted to criticize anyone who said he could not be fair after the extensive publicity about the tragedy.
“Are you able to put aside the sympathy you naturally feel and decide this case on the basis of evidence and facts?” asked Judge Cheryl Matthews.
James and Jennifer Crumbley have become the first American parents charged with criminal responsibility for a mass school shooting committed by a child. Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in February.
James Crumbley, accompanied by Ethan, purchased a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol over Thanksgiving weekend in 2021. The boy called it his ‘new beauty’ on social media. His mother described the gun as a Christmas present and took him to a shooting range.
Four days after the purchase, the parents went to Oxford High to discuss a violent picture their son had drawn during a maths assignment, accompanied by disturbing sentences: “The thoughts don’t stop.” Help me.” There was a gun on the paper that looked like the Sig Sauer.
The Crumbleys did not take Ethan home, and the school staff – believing him to be suicidal – did not demand it either. But no one checked the boy’s backpack for a gun, and the shooting happened that afternoon.
Defense attorneys maintain that the parents could not have foreseen the shooting and did not commit a crime. One man was excluded from the jury on Wednesday when he said the charges were “injustice” and a response to a “mob.”
Attorney Mariell Lehman repeatedly asked potential jurors about their trust in teenagers and their own parenting styles.
Ethan, now 17, is serving a life sentence for murder and terrorism.
Jennifer Crumbley, 45, will return to court for her sentence on April 9. Her minimum prison sentence could be up to ten years.
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