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Jennifer Crumbley testifying in Oakland County
An Oakland County jury on Tuesday convicted Jennifer Crumbley of four counts of involuntary manslaughter related to four students her son Ethan murdered at Oxford High School in a mass shooting on Nov. 30, 2021.
Crumbley, 45, has been held in the Oakland County Jail for more than two years. Whatever her sentence, it's expected she'll get credit for time served.
The case is the first time parents have been criminally charged in a mass school shooting. The conviction creates a precedent for prosecutors in future cases around the country and puts parents on notice that they can be held liable for their childrens' action.
The case captured national attention and the trial in recent days was part of the news menu on the nightly national news.
Attorney Shannon Smith and Jennifer Crumbley as verdict announced.
Prosecutors charged that she and her husband, were negligent parents who ignored red flags their son raised over time about his mental health. And instead of getting him therapy, prosectors say, the parents bought him a gun as a Christmas present -- the gun that was used to murder the four students and wound six others and a teacher.
Crumbley testified on her own behalf, saying she did what she could to be a good mother and wouldn't have done anything differently. Her husband James Crumbley is set to go to trial in March.
"I don't feel that I'm a failure as a parent," she told jurors, later saying, "I wish he would have killed us instead."
Watch the jury announce the verdict below.
