Why are Ethan Crumbley’s parents being charged? 'Extreme negligence' key to case
Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald announced on December 3 that Ethan Crumbley's parents James and Jennifer would also face charges over their son's crime of shooting at Oxford High School. The couple is now facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter each and could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. But first, they need to be found, after reports that they are now in the wind and are being hunted by the FBI and the Marshal Service.
McDonald has defended the charges, acknowledging the couple's "extreme negligence" that led to the shooting that killed four. As we previously reported, James Crumbley purchased the pistol used in the shooting just days before, at a Black Friday sale to which his son was a witness. He is then accused of failing to keep it safely locked up and away from the teen, who showed it off in social media posts. Ethan is now being held on a host of charges, including terrorism, while the hunt is on for his parents.
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Former FBI Director Andrew McCabe called the charges "unprecedented", but he's not entirely right. In fact, the Crumbelys aren't the first parents to be charged for their child's actions in a shooting. It's extremely rare, but not unheard of for such a situation to occur. And in the case of the Crumbleys, McDonald believes he has enough evidence to put them away.
Why are the Crumbleys being charged?
So far, McDonald has managed to gather considerable evidence against the couple. Not only did James take Ethan with him to buy the gun, but they also failed to ensure he couldn't access it. Ethan can be seen showing off the weapon on social media, indicating just how negligent the parents were. Adding to that, Ethan had a history of issues and was reportedly called in to see officials twice in two days, the second time just hours before the shooting.
"They knew that their son was having severe emotional problems, but they took no heed of that. They acted with what we call extreme negligence," said professor Laurie Levenson to The New York Post. In the second meeting, officials reportedly asked the Crumbleys to take their son out of the school, but they refused. Days before the shooting, Ethan was caught searching for ammunition on his phone while at school. Instead of reprimanding him, however, Jennifer texted him, "lol, I’m not mad at you, you have to learn not to get caught."
The mountain of evidence certainly indicates the Crumbleys did little to prevent Ethan. It led McCabe to appear on CNN and tell Ana Cabrera, "I was stunned when I heard that they were leaning in that direction because it's so exceedingly rare." He went on to acknowledge, "It's incredible and it's absolutely called for. And I think it maybe is just the sort of thing we need to attract attention to this epidemic of school violence."
History of parents getting charged
As we noted earlier, the Crumbleys aren't the first parents to be charged for their child's actions. Despite a large number of children being caught for gun violence, very few parents are actually charged, because "proving criminally negligent or reckless homicide is tough under any circumstances." But there have been a few times when it has happened. In 2020, Indiana mom Mary Anne York was sentenced to 2.5 years of probation after her 14-year-old fired shots in a middle school before killing himself. York pled guilty to four charges of child negligence for not removing the guns from her home after her child threatened to kill students.
In 2018, the parents of the victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting sued Antonio Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, the parents of shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis. The couple was accused of failing to secure their weapons, and take action when Dimitrios "harbored violent and hateful impulses." The case is still in court but goes to show that sometimes, parents can be held responsible.
McDonald told reporters the charges against the Crumbleys were "meant to hold the individuals who contributed to this tragedy accountable and also send a message that gun owners have a responsibility," something even McCabe has backed. Unusually though, McDonald chose to press charges of involuntary manslaughter. The charge means the Crumbelys are accused of killing the four children indirectly, i.e. without intent.
Under Michigan law, it is a felony charge punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of as much as $7,500. To ensure a conviction, McDonald will have to prove the Crumbleys were responsible for giving Ethan access to a gun, which it appears they have enough evidence to do. Even McCabe acknowledged the prosecutors have "a better perfect storm collection of fact and evidence to potentially hold these parents responsible."