PONTIAC (WWJ) -- Jennifer Crumbley has been found guilty of manslaughter in connection with the deadly mass shooting at Oxford High School, carried our by her teenage son.
After deliberating for about a day and-a-half, the jury of six men and six women announced its verdict in Oakland County Circuit Court, early Tuesday afternoon.
Crumbley was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of the Oxford High students Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17.
She was convicted on all four of those counts.
Involuntary manslaughter carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
WWJ's Charlie Langton reports this case could have far-reaching implications, as it's the first time in U.S. history that a parent of a mass school shooter has been tried for their role in the murders committed by their child.
Reacting to the verdict just after it was read, Langton said the outcome was a little bit of a surprise to some who watched the trial.
"But listen, the jury was only out for a day and-a-half," Langton said. "And generally speaking, the quicker they're out, the better for the prosecution. Obviously it played well here."
In delivering instructions to the jury Monday morning, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews stressed that jurors must concentrate only on the evidence presented.
"Remember that you have taken an oath to return a true and just verdict based only on the evidence and my instructions on the law," Matthews said. "You must not let sympathy, bias or prejudice influence your decision. You must avoid reaching conclusions that may have been unintentionally influenced by stereotypes. You must reach your own conclusions about this case individually, but you should do so only after listening to and considering the opinions of the other jurors, who may have different backgrounds and perspectives from yours."
During the weeklong trial in Oakland County Circuit, prosecutors sought to prove that Crumbley was grossly negligent, leading to the death of four students at the hands of Crumbley's son.
On Nov. 30, 2021, Ethan Crumbley took a 9mm handgun to school and fatally shot four of his peers, wounding six other students and a teacher.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and Asst. Prosecutor Marc Keast presented evidence painting a picture of a mother who was too busy with horseback riding and extramarital affairs to pay attention to her son, and to respond to his cries for help. They alleged that the shooter's parents knew that their son with struggling with his mental health, yet did nothing to help him; instead buying him a handgun as a Christmas gift and failing to keep it locked up.
In final arguments Friday, McDonald said Jennifer Crumbley could have prevented the shootings simply by taking her son home that morning, following a meeting with the school councilor to discuss a disturbing drawing on a math worksheet. Although the drawing included a handgun and the words "blood everywhere," and, "Help me," prosecutors noted that the mom didn't mention to school officials that they'd recently given their son a gun.
"She did not give him the help that he wanted. And you can argue about the months before and the weeks before, but if you just even look at what happened that day, she walked out of that school and she knew, she knew, something bad might happen," McDonald said.
"...She walked out of that school when just the smallest, smallest of things could have saved, could have helped Hana and Tate and Madison and Justin — just the smallest of things. And not only did she not do it, she doesn't even regret it."
Defense attorney Shannon Smith countered those arguments, presenting her client as an involved and caring mother who may be imperfect, but had no idea her son was a threat to anyone.
Smith said, in her closing statement: "She (McDonald) said this is shocking, unthinkable, obviously unbelievable, unthinkable, unfathomable," Smith told the jury. "And the reason that's the case is because it was unforeseeable. No one expected this. No one could have expected this, including Mrs. Crumbley."
At his sentencing last December, the shooter seemed to try to defend his parents, as well as school officials, stating: "They did not know and I did not tell them what I planned to do, so they are not at fault for what I've done."
Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 years old at the time of the shootings, was sentenced to life in prison without a chance for parole.
The shooter's father, James Crumbley, faces a separate trial set for March, also on four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Langton said Jennifer Crumbley could appeal the conviction, possibly on the basis her attorney has said it was inappropriate that video of the killings be shown in court.
Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest on this developing story.