James and Jennifer Crumble were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for manslaughter in the 2021 slayings of four school friends by their 15-year-old son Ethan. The court accepted the sentence requested by the prosecutor's office.
Commenting on the verdict, the BBC writes of a “landmark case”.
Announcing the verdict, Judge Cheryl Matthews, who presided over the hearing, said the high fine, the first of its kind, would act as a deterrent to other parents who ignore their children's mental health problems. He noted that the parents received “many warning signals” about their son, but “nobody responded, these two guys should have done it and didn't.”
During a hearing Tuesday, the parents of an Oxford, Michigan homicide suspect apologized to the victims' families and swore they had no idea their son was planning the crime. Prosecutors accused them of failing to secure weapons in the home and neglecting their son's state of mind. They point out that the Crumples were called to school in connection with the shooting, which Ethan drew with the words, “Thoughts won't stop. Help me.”
On the same day, a 15-year-old boy took his father's gun from home and shot dead four students and wounded seven others.
James and Jennifer Crumble during a hearing in Michigan state court Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
In the end, the judge accepted the arguments of the prosecutors and handed down the maximum sentence they had sought. Both have been in jail since December 2021.
The teenager had already pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The school where the massacre took place PAP/EPA/NIC Mr
Main photo source: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images