A Michigan judge on Wednesday released a long awaiting decision denying the parents of a convicted school shooter a new trial for their own convictions for their complicity in the deadly shooting.
Jennifer and James Crumbley were convicted of four counts each of involuntary manslaughter in separate trials in 2024, as CrimeOnline reported. They were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.
The Crumbleys’ son, then-15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison for the deaths of Hana St. Juliana, 14; Justin Shilling, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Madisyn Baldwin, 16, in the November 2021 shooting at Oxford High School. Seven other people, including a teacher, were wounded. He is appealing the sentence and trying to withdraw his guilty plea.
According to the Detroit News, the elder Crumbleys had argued that prosecutors failed to provide evidence to their defense attorneys, violating discovery rules. In her ruling, Judge Cheryl Matthews wrote that although there was evidence that had been suppressed, it would not have changed the outcome of the cases.
Despite the suppressed evidence, Defendant Jennifer Crumbley received a trial and verdict worthy of confidence based on the cumulative effect of the significant evidence against her,” Matthews wrote, saying the same thing in the ruling denying James Crombley a new trial.
Jennifer Crombley’s attorney said he would appeal the ruling. Her husband’s attorney was not available for comment.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who prosecuted the cases, said it was now time to turn attention away from the Crombleys.
“These cases have always been about just one thing: justice for Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Justin Shilling and the other Oxford victims. Judge Matthews’ ruling makes clear that no issue raised by the defense affected the trial or the jury’s verdict,” McDonald said in a statement. “The bottom line is both James and Jennifer Crumbley were convicted by juries of their peers after receiving a fair trial.”
Jennifer and James Crumbley were criminally charged for failing to get their son mental health treatment and not securing the gun used in the mass school shooting. Additionally, James Crumbley purchased his teen son the gun which he used to carry out the shooting four days later.
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[Featured image: Jennifer Crumbley, Ethan Crumbley, and James Crumbley/Oakland County Sheriff’s Office via AP]
