Recap Day 8: Jury finds James Crumbley guilty
Pontiac — An Oakland County jury on Thursday found James Crumbley, the father of the Oxford High School shooter, guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
The jury deliberated for 10 1/2 hours over two days before delivering their verdict around 7:20 p.m. Crumbley, 47, was found guilty of all four counts. Each count was associated with a death of a student killed by Crumbley's son in the Nov. 30, 2021 shooting.
Some family members sobbed as the verdict was read. Many hugged Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald afterward.
As the verdict was read, Crumbley shook his head. He'll be sentenced April 9.
Crumbley was charged in connection with the deaths of four students — Madisyn Baldwin, 16; Tate Myre, 16; Justine Shilling, 17; Hana St. Juliana, 14.
A jury of six men and six women, nine of whom are parents and four who have guns, weighed the case against Crumbley, determining he was grossly negligent by allowing his son to have access to the 9mm gun he used in the Nov. 30, 2021 shooting and failed to practice ordinary care by ignoring his son's mental health needs.
Jurors left after the verdict and did want to be interviewed by reporters.
Reaction after verdict
Prosecutor Karen McDonald rejected the idea during her closing argument that the trial was about guns or parental accountability, but after the verdict, she said guns do have to be secured.
"This is preventable," she said. "And access to guns is absolutely a critical part of that. But its not the only part," McDonald said, noting that automobile deaths used to be the leading cause of death for kids, but after teaching people about seatbelts and other car safety has changed that.
Even with Michigan’s new law requiring gun owners with children in the home to secure their firearms, McDonald believes storing guns securely is common sense.
“Everyone has a right to own a gun," she said. "But with that right, of course, you have to secure it. Nobody looking at this rationally would say that this set of facts is OK.”
Parents of the four students who died applauded the verdict but said more needs to be done to keep kids safe in schools. One parent said it is a Democratic or Republican issue; it's nonpartisan.
“We do not want any other parents to go through what we’ve gone through," said Steve St. Juliana, whose daughter, Hana, was killed. "It’s as simple as that.”
Trial overview
Prosecutors and Crumbley's defense attorney delivered their closing arguments Wednesday after 16 witnesses took the stand during the trial. Prosecutors have maintained that Crumbley was the adult "in the best position" to stop the murders that happened and could've taken the easiest, "most glaring" steps to prevent the shooting, like securing the murder weapon, but didn't.
A trigger lock that came with the 9mm SIG Sauer purchased four days before the shooting appeared to be unopened.
Crumbley's attorney, meanwhile, has repeatedly said he "didn't know" his son had access to the gun or what his son was planning.
Still deliberating
As of 6 p.m. Thursday, the jury was still deliberating.
The rare trial marks only the second time a parent has been tried on involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with a school mass shooting. Jennifer Crumbley's trial was the first time.
Parent of one victim waits for verdict
Craig Shilling, whose son, Justin, 17, was killed in the 2021 shooting, said he's been anxious while waiting for the verdict to come down, as he's been waiting in a conference room in the Oakland County courthouse. He said staying focused on what they're here for — to represent Justin and the other children who were killed — helps.
Shilling said he's been looking at the next steps as well: the two civil lawsuits he filed are still awaiting an appeals decision. He said his attorney told him they could stretch the next five to 10 years.
"I don't think it needs to be that long, I feel that the school can accept the responsibility and accountability and let us move on with our lives, instead of having to drag us through all this."
There's absolutely culpability by the school, Shilling said.
"That's why we had to go through it because we had to identify that and we had to let other schools and other communities all over the country know they have to be responsible," he said.
Lunch break
The jury took a break for lunch until 12:45 p.m.
Come back to The Detroit News for more on this developing story.
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