THE parents of the Oxford High School shooter have been sentenced to 10-15 years behind bars.

James and Jennifer Crumbley were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in their respective trials after prosecutors argued that they could have prevented the Oxford High School shooting carried out by their son, Ethan Crumbley, in November 2021.

In a historic ruling in an Oakland County courtroom on Tuesday, the Crumbleys became the first set of parents sentenced in a US mass school shooting.

James and Jennifer will serve 10-15 years, respectively, behind bars with the Michigan Department of Corrections for their role in the shooting.

Each will be credited for 858 days already served.

James was found guilty on all four counts of involuntary manslaughter in March, while Jennifer was convicted of the same charges in February.  

Prosecutors said the couple’s “gross negligence changed an entire community forever.”

Their son, Ethan, who was 15 when he carried out the shooting, has already been sentenced to life in prison without the chance for parole.

Four students, Madisyn Baldwin, 16, Tate Myre, 16, Justin Shilling, 17, and Hana St. Juliana, 14, were killed in the 2021 massacre, and six others were injured.

During their trials, prosecutors argued that James and Jennifer gifted their son a gun for Christmas, which he used to carry out the mass shooting.

They also failed to do anything about their son’s mental turmoil.

LIFT THE NO CONTACT ORDER?

Prior to the sentencing, attorneys for James and Jennifer asked the judge to lift a no-contact provision between the couple and their son, Ethan.

“Despite even having felonies on their records, they have a constitutional right to be a family,” attorneys argued.

The prosecuting attorney asked Judge Cheryl Matthews to hold her decision so they could have adequate time to respond.

She gave the prosecution until next Tuesday to respond.

VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS

Before learning their fate, several of the victims’ family members gave emotional impact statements.

Nicole Beausoleil, Madisyn Baldwin’s mother, spoke first about helping her daughter finish her college essays, while Jennifer and James were purchasing their son a gun.

“It will hurt for eternity. As her mom, I didn’t protect her,” Nicole said tearfully.

“I mattered because of her.”

Nicole told the mass shooter’s parents she was lying on the floor crying hysterically while they were out purchasing burner phones.

“While you were hiding, I was planning her funeral,” she said.

“The lack of compassion you have shown is outright disgusting.

“The punishment you face will never be enough.”

Nicole requested the judge to enforce the maximum sentence.

Next to speak was Justin Shilling’s mother, Jill Soave. Justin was an honor student and athlete.

“If only they had secured that gun,” his mother said.

“If only they had checked his backpack.

“If only they had taken him home or taken him to counseling instead of abandoning him at that school, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

She, too, asked for the maximum sentence.

Justin’s father, Craig Shiling, also spoke.

The punishment you face will never be enough.

Madisyn Baldwin’s mother

“For the second time in six months, I find myself standing in front of a packed courtroom a victim,” said Craig, wearing a sweatshirt with his son’s picture on it.

As he stood in front of the “disturbed” shooter’s parents, Craig said, his son’s death had changed his life forever.

The fact that Jennifer had said she wouldn’t change anything leading up to the mass shooting was shocking to the victim’s father.

“The blood of our children is on your hands, too,” said Craig.

Hana St. Juliana’s sister, Reina St. Juliana, and her father also spoke during the sentencing.

Reina said she wished Jennifer and James wouldn’t have bought the gun or bullets their son used to kill her sister.

Her father said the Crumbleys enabled their son.

“They chose to stay quiet. They chose to ignore the warning signs, and now as we’ve heard through all of the objections, they continue to choose to blame everyone but themselves,” he said. “Multiple juries have found them guilty.”

“I think of her and miss her constantly. Every day is a battle to attempt to move forward,” he added. “I will never walk her down the aisle.”

He asked the judge to sentence them to the maximum penalty of 10 to 15 years.

The Crumbleys have already served two years and four months in an Oakland County jail.

Tate Myre’s father said he’s not celebrating the Crumbleys’ convictions.

“This tragedy has taken an incredible toll on our family,” he said emotionally, adding that he wasn’t going to give the Crumbleys a minute of his time.

He instead wanted to turn the focus onto Oxford High School, which he believes played a role in the tragedy.

“It’s time for the whole truth to come out. It’s time to learn from this,” he said.

“I fight for everybody in this room. My rights aren’t being protected. Criminal rights are more important than our rights,” he said.

“We are ready for our government to perform an investigation on this tragedy.”

Tate’s father is requesting a full investigation of the shooting be conducted out of respect for the families.

‘DEEPEST SORROW’

Jennifer then addressed the courtroom. She told the judge she’s been locked in a cell for 23 hours a day for over 38 months and hopes to get a “fair and just sentence.”

“I sit here today to express my deepest sorrow,” she said. “There’s nothing I can say to ease the pain and suffering.”

“We felt confident trusting the professionals’ advice to let him stay in school that day,” Jennifer told the courtroom.

“We were never asked to take him home that day.”

The school shooter’s mother said her original answer about not doing anything differently before the shooting has now changed.

“With the benefit of hindsight and the information I have now, my answer would be drastically different,” Jennifer said.

The evidence during court has changed her opinion of her son, she added.

“He was not the son I knew when I woke up on November 30,” she said.

“My husband and I used to say we had the perfect kid. I truly believed that,” she said.

“We were the average family. We loved our son.”

James Crumbley then shared his own sentiments.

“I want to say I can’t imagine the pain and agony for the families that lost their children and what they’re experiencing and what they’re going through,” he said.

Through tears, he said his heart was broken for everybody involved.