Ethan Crumbley’s parents will stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges

Jennifer and James Crumbley will stand trial on charges stemming from the mass shooting their son, Ethan, committed at Oxford High School in 2021. Prosecutors allege the couple missed numerous red flags in their son’s behavior and enabled the act by buying the teenager the handgun he used to kill four people.

The Crumbley parents, who have been held in jail since they were apprehended in the wake of the shooting, appealed their case to the Michigan Supreme Court in an effort to get it thrown out. The court has now denied that request.

James and Jennifer Crumbley are individually facing four counts of manslaughter for each person their son fatally shot — Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana and Justin Shilling.

Oakland County prosecutors and attorneys representing the elder Crumbleys are subject to a gag order and are not allowed to publicly comment on the case.

The first-of-its-kind case is viewed as one that could set a national standard for parental responsibility in mass shootings committed by a minor.

Ethan Crumbley has pleaded guilty to all charges related to the Oxford High shooting. During his plea, he testified that his parents bought him the gun as a birthday present days before he carried out the act.

Last week, an Oakland County judge ruled that Ethan Crumbley can be sentenced as an adult, which carries the possibility of life without parole. The teenager’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 8.