The Michigan Court of Appeals has decided that the parents of the Oxford High School shooter will go on trial on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the four murders their son Ethan Crumbley caused in a school shooting in November 2021. This case has the potential to set a precedent.
James and Jennifer Crumbley have stated that the accusations are without merit and that they shouldn’t be held accountable for their son’s murders.
A panel of judges for the state’s appellate court noted the potential precedent-setting significance of this case – holding parents responsible for a child’s offenses – but described the circumstances as unique and uncommon in a written ruling submitted on Thursday.
The court stated that because Crumbley’s conduct “was reasonably foreseeable, and that is the ultimate test that must be applied,” such worries are “significantly diminished.”
The judge’s ruling included text messages from Crumbley’s parents from months before the shooting. He described paranoia and hallucinations, including the idea that a demon was hurling objects around the house.
According to the opinion, Crumbley reportedly admitted to a friend that he thought he was going through a mental breakdown and sought his parents for medical assistance, but that his father urged him to “suck it up” and his mother laughed.
Judge Michael Riordan observed in a concurring opinion that the case was extraordinary due to how obvious it was that Crumbley was having mental health issues and considering violence, as well as the fact that his parents had still given him a firearm.
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