The parents of school shooter Ethan Crumbley have been ordered to stand trial for their role in their son’s mass shooting.
Rochester Hills District Court Judge Julie Nicholson ruled that Jennifer and James Crumbley will face involuntary manslaughter charges. The couple is accused of failing to step in when their son Ethan displayed severe emotional issues. They also gifted him with the gun used in the shooting as an early Christmas gift. He conducted the murders on November 30th.
Ethan murdered four students and injured six others, as well as a teacher at Oxford High School, about 30 miles north of Detroit. The 15-year-old alarmed a teacher, who called his mother the day before the murders to inform her that he was researching ammunition on his phone. The day of the shooting, Ethan’s parents met with a school counselor who warned them that he was a threat to himself and others and needed mental health support. However, Jennifer and James didn’t take the claims seriously and his mother even reportedly laughed at him when he tried to express his mental health battles. His father allegedly told him to “get over it.”
The teen has been charged as an adult for first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism, and gun charges. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Jennifer and James remain behind bars on a $500,000 bond. They have pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charges.
