The father of a school shooter was found guilty Thursday of manslaughter for providing his son with the gun used to carry out the attack, despite knowing about his son’s behavioral issues.
James Crumbley, 47, was found guilty on all four counts of involuntary manslaughter for what prosecutors argued was his gross negligence in giving his son, Ethan Crumbley, the weapon he used to kill four students and wound seven others at Oxford High School in 2021. Ethan, who was 15 at the time, received a life sentence last year.
Just days before the shooting, Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, gave their son the semi-automatic handgun used to carry out the attack. Jurors were shown text messages between James Crumbley and his wife that discussed Ethan’s declining mental health.
In another text message shown to jurors, Ethan told a friend he went to his parents for help but was rebuffed.
“He just gave me some pills and told me to ‘Suck it up,’” Ethan texted about his dad.
Ethan also wrote in a journal about his parents ignoring his condition.
“I want help but my parents don’t listen to me so I can’t get any help,” he wrote. “I have zero help for my mental problems and it’s causing me to shoot up the f**king school.”
During his trial, James Crumbley had his jail communications limited after he allegedly made “threatening statements while on the phone and in electronic messages,” the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office told HuffPost at the time. Authorities did not reveal the nature of the alleged threats.
Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter charges in a separate trial in February, making her the first parent in the U.S. to be found at fault for a mass shooting committed by their child. Her sentencing is in April.
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