Parents of Oxford High School shooter will not get a new trial, Michigan judge rules
James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the Oxford High School shooter, will not get a new trial, a judge ruled on Wednesday.
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews upheld their convictions, specifically ruling that "Jennifer Crumbley received a trial and verdict worthy of confidence based on the cumulative effect of the significant evidence against her."
A jury convicted the Crumbleys of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in 2024. They were sentenced to 10-15 years in prison. Their son, Ethan Crumbley, is serving a life sentence after her pleaded guilty to multiple charges in connection with the deadly shooting on Nov. 30, 2021, that killed four people and wounded seven others.
The Crumbleys made history as the first parents to be convicted for a mass shooting committed by their children. They were given separate trials that included testimonies from school officials, law enforcement and other witnesses.
During the trials, the prosecution argued that the parents should be held partially responsible for the students' deaths because they ignored signs of their son's mental health needs and purchased the gun that was used in the shooting. The shooter was 15 years old at the time of the shooting.
In the months following their convictions, the couple filed appeals, arguing that they did not receive a fair trial and that the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office offered secret deals to two school officials who testified at their trials.
Prosecutor Karen McDonald issued the following statement on Wednesday:
"Today Judge Cheryl Matthews' upheld the guilty verdicts of James and Jennifer Crumbley and denied their requests for new trials. These cases have always been about just one thing: justice for Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Justin Shilling and the other Oxford victims. Judge Matthews' ruling makes clear that no issue raised by the defense affected the trial or the jury's verdict.
"Now that the juries' verdicts have been reviewed and upheld, it is time to turn our attention away from the Crumbleys and refocus on the Oxford victims. The bottom line is both James and Jennifer Crumbley were convicted by juries of their peers after receiving a fair trial."
