James Crumbley, the father of convicted Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, is set to go on trial Tuesday a month after his wife, Jennifer, was convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter, People reports.
Father of convicted Michigan school shooter James Crumbley is facing the same charges as his wife, who is scheduled to be sentenced in April. During Jennifer’s trial, prosecutors argued she did nothing to prevent her son killing four students at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., in November 2021, according to the report by People.
The victims of the shootings were Hana St. Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, Justin Shilling, 17, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17.
The gun the shooter used during the shooting was purchased for him by his parents as an early Christmas present just days before. During her trial, Jennifer claimed that guns were not really her interest and that her husband was the one responsible for storing guns in the house.
“I just didn’t really feel comfortable just being in charge of that,” she said in a broadcast of her testimony, posted by WXYZ. “It was more [James’] thing so I let him handle that.”
According to a report from NBC, James Crumbley bought his son the gun used in the shooting. Jennifer testified that James had decided to buy it on Black Friday in 2021.
Another key moment in Jennifer’s trial was when prosecutors referenced a meeting the morning of the shooting between school officials and both parents.
The parents were brought in after the school saw a drawing of a gun the shooter made on a math worksheet, according to the prosecution. But the meeting ended abruptly, prosecutors said, and the parents declined to bring their son home.
Prosecutors also previously played video of Jennifer and James’ interview with police following the shooting. The video shows the parents entering the room where the shooter was being held. A detective asked if they had any questions for their son, before James responded saying he didn’t think they needed to question him.
As they were being led out of the room with the shooter, Jennifer turned and asked her son, “Why? Why?”
James, leading Jennifer out, can be heard saying “I love you” multiple times to the shooter.