In a first-of-its-kind trial, a teenage killer's mother has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with her son's killing of four students in a 2021 school shooting.
Jennifer Crumbley has been charged on four counts of involuntary manslaughter and faces a possible sentence of 15 years in prison.
Ethan Crumbley - who was 15 at the time - opened fire inside Oxford High School in Oxford Township, Michigan on Tuesday 30 November.
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Prosecutors charged Crumbley as an adult with murder, terrorism and other crimes after he shot 10 students and a teacher.
Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17, were all killed.
In the latest developments, prosecutors said that Crumbley was grossly negligent and could have stopped the shooting from taking place.
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The school found a drawing of a gun, bullet and wounded man on the then 15-year-old’s maths assignment, alongside the words: “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”
The mother was accused of allowing a new 9mm handgun to be accessible at the family home whilst not paying enough attention to her son’s mental health.
The Michigan jury heard that the gun had been purchased just four days prior to the shooting on Black Friday by his father, James Crumbley.
The mother also took her son to a shooting range that same weekend.
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Crumbley previously told the jurors: “I just didn’t feel comfortable being in charge of that. It was his thing. I didn’t feel comfortable putting the lock thing on it."
She continued to say: "I was more angry that they cut into our Christmas tree time.
"I usually cut my Christmas tree down right after I get back from shopping, but I had to wait for them, so I was irritated."
The 45-year-old mum told jurors she wished her son had 'killed us instead'.
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Father James, 47, is scheduled for trial in March on the same charges while Ethan, now 17, is serving a life sentence for murder and terrorism.
When the mother took to the stand last week she said: “That was the hardest thing I had to stomach – that my child harmed and killed other people."
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwame Rowe said last year at Ethan's sentence that he has 'an obsession with violence'.
"This started with him asking for a better gun to carry out the school shooting," Rowe said.
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"He could have changed his mind (after shooting his first victim).
"But he didn’t. He continued to walk through the school picking and choosing who was going to die.
"As the defendant said in his own words this is nobody’s fault but his own."
Jennifer Crumbley will be sentenced on 9 April.
Featured Image Credit: JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images/JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images