Doc on school shooter’s parents reveals how prosecutors built case – ABC News
By Doc Louallen
April 20, 2024, 6:10 AM
On Nov. 30, 2021, a 15-year-old boy killed four students and injured seven others in a shooting spree at Oxford High School in Michigan. He pleaded guilty to all 24 charges against him and was sentenced to life in prison.
Just three days after the shooting, Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald made the historic decision to charge the shooter’s parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, with involuntary manslaughter. The Crumbleys are the first parents ever to be charged, then convicted, in the United States for a mass shooting committed by their child.
In a new hourlong documentary premiering April 18 on Hulu, “Sins of the Parents: The Crumbley Trials,” ABC News Studios offers exclusive behind-the-scenes access as the prosecution builds their case over a two-year period.
In this Feb. 8, 2022, file photo, Jennifer Crumbley, left, and James Crumbley, right, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, a teenager accused of killing four students in a shooting at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., appear in court for a preliminary examination on involuntary manslaughter charges in Rochester Hills, Mich.
Paul Sancya/AP, FILE
“I know we have a legal duty as parents to protect other people from dangerous kids,” McDonald says in the documentary.
“This is about parents who largely ignored their son, neglected…his cries for help. And then bought him a gun,” said chief assistant prosecutor David Williams.
The shooter’s journal entries revealed that he blamed his parents for his mental decline, stating that they didn’t listen or get him a therapist. During the trials, evidence showed how the Crumbleys were engaged with their son’s interest in guns.
While investigating Ethan’s parents, McDonald and her team uncovered a text message sent by Jennifer Crumbley to her son. The text read, “LOL, I’m not mad. You have to learn how not to get caught.” Jennifer Crumbley did not appear to be angry with him after learning that he had been researching bullets in class.
Testifying in her own defense, Jennifer Crumbley said, “You know, as a parent, you spend your whole life trying to protect your child from other dangers. You never would think you have to protect your child from harming somebody else.”
James Crumbley’s defense attorney, Mariell Lehman, warned that the prosecution’s argument could set a dangerous precedent, blurring the line between parent and criminal.
“I think that if somebody is made out to be a bad parent, then…their behavior can be contorted into criminal behavior,” Lehman says. “I think that James Crumbley was…made out to be someone that he’s not.”
A jailhouse phone call with James Crumbley is one of several which the prosecution has said were threatening against the Oakland County prosecutor.
“When I get out of here, I am f—— on a rampage, Karen. Yes, Karen McDonald, your a– is going down and you better be f—— scared.”
Crumbley’s defense attorney characterized those remarks as venting, noting that some statements were from years before the trial began.
The Crumbleys were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 10-15 years in prison.
After the trial, Judge Cheryl Matthews said the Crumbleys showed a lack of concern toward guns and glorified their possession and use.
Janis Sexton...Teacher...Advocate 