Michigan prosecutors seek 10 to 15 years in prison for James and Jennifer Crumbley

DETROIT — Jennifer Crumbley wants to live with her lawyer on house arrest instead of going to prison for her conviction in the Oxford High School mass shooting carried out by her son but prosecutors are urging the judge to give her 10 to 15 years in prison instead, arguing she has shown "a chilling lack of remorse."

"Such a proposed sentence is a slap in the face to the severity of tragedy caused by (Jennifer Crumbley's) gross negligence, the victims and their families," Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast wrote in a sentencing memo filed late Wednesday. The document disclosed Jennifer Crumbley's wishes to avoid prison and new details about the embattled parents of the Oxford school shooter.

Among them is that Michigan recommended a sentencing range of 43 to 86 months — or a maximum of about seven years — for both parents, who are scheduled to be sentenced on April 9 after separate juries convicted them on four counts of involuntary manslaughter. Each count carries up to 15 years in prison, which Jennifer Crumbley is trying to avoid altogether.

The state guideline is advisory, based on post-conviction interviews and facts of the case.

Details about James Crumbley's threats

James Crumbley bought Ethan Crumbley the gun used to murder four students and injure six other students and a teacher during his rampage on Nov. 30, 2021. James Crumbley has asked for time served, according to the prosecutor's memo.

But the prosecution scoffed at the request and is also requesting that James Crumbley be sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for failing to secure a gun that his son sneaked out of the house and then used to murder his classmates.

"Defendant’s shameless lack of remorse in asking for time served as an appropriate sentence is a slap in the face to the severity of tragedy caused by his gross negligence, to the victims and their families," Keast argues in his sentencing memo.

In calling for a stiff punishment for James Crumbley, Keast also cited multiple threats that James Crumbley allegedly made toward Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald in a jail phone conversation, including calling her a "f------ b----," and saying: "Your ass is going down and you better f------  scared."

"Beyond defendant’s gross negligence, his jail calls show a total lack of remorse, he blames everyone but himself, and he threatened the elected Prosecutor," writes Keast, who accused the shooter's father of the same thing he did the mother: "(He) has shown a chilling lack of remorse for his culpability in this matter. He has blamed everyone but himself and considers himself a 'martyr.'"

Jennifer Crumbley seeks to explain her testimony

Keast also lambasted Jennifer Crumbley over her request to live on house arrest, while on a tether, in her lawyer's guest house in Oakland County, and for trying to clarify a damning statement she made during her trial when she testified in her defense. According to an interview she had with investigators preparing her presentencing report, Jennifer Crumbley stated:

• “At trial, when I was on the stand I was asked if I would have done anything differently, I testified that I would not have — and that is true without the benefit of of (sic) hindsight that I have now. With the information I have now, of course my answer would be hugely different. There are so many things that I would change if I could go back in time."

• "I knew my son to be a quiet, good kid, who loved his pets. I never imagined he would hurt other people in the way that he did. I have been in jail for over 26 months and have been locked down 23 hours per day. I am hopeful the Court will sentence me in a way that allows me to be released from jail for the balance of my sentence."

Prosecutor: Jennifer Crumbley lied about her drinking

The prosecution urged Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews to exceed the state-determined sentencing guidelines and send her to prison for 10 to 15 years instead.

"Consistent with her efforts to minimize her culpability directly after the shooting, defendant — now even after trial — continues to show a complete lack of remorse by minimizing any role she had in the matter," Keast wrote. "Demonstrating this fact, defendant thinks a proportionate sentence is to 'be placed on a tether with house arrest' at her attorney’s guest house — ostensibly an upgraded residence from (her former Oxford home) where she resided before her gross negligence that led to the Oxford High School shooting."

Keast also portrayed Jennifer Crumbley as a liar with a drinking problem.

"For example, defendant reported in her (presentencing investigation report) interview that she only used alcohol one to two times per week. That is a blatant lie," argued Keast, who included more than a dozen receipts for whiskey and vodka purchases over one month by the Crumbleys.

He also stressed: "Beyond defendant’s lack of remorse, it is telling that she has no other support or ties left in the community, so she has to rely on her retained attorney for a proposed placement."

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"(Jennifer Crumbley's) gross negligence changed an entire community forever. It resulted in the deaths of four students, seven other individuals wounded and hundreds of others terrorized," the memo stated, adding that all of this could have been stopped with "tragically simple actions from defendant, but she failed to take any action when presented with the gravest of dangers — prioritizing her own convenience over the safety of everyone in the school that day."

The Crumbleys, who are the first parents in America to be held criminally responsible for a mass school shooting carried out by their child, were convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter. Each count carries up to 15 years in prison, though typically such sentences are handed down concurrently, not consecutively. The judge also has the discretion to go above or below the advisory guidelines.

At both trials, prosecutors argued that the Crumbleys ignored the mental health needs of their son, and instead of getting him help, they bought him a gun, which he used four days later to shoot up his school. The prosecution also argued the Crumbleys did not properly secure the weapon and failed to notify school officials about that gun when given the chance.

James Crumbley purchased handgun for Ethan Crumbley

Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to all his crimes and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His rampage claimed the lives of Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17.

According to trial testimony, on Black Friday in 2021, James Crumbley and his son went to an Oxford gun shop and purchased a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun that the boy had long begged for, according to the teen's journal. In a social media post, his mom described the gun as an early Christmas present.

At trial, the defense argued the gun didn't really belong to the boy, that it was hidden in the parents' bedroom armoire and the ammunition was stored in a separate drawer, and that it was only to be used at the shooting range with his father. The mom testified that her husband was in charge of storing the weapon — an issue the prosecution hammered away at during James Crumbley's trial.

McDonald argued to the jury that four children might be alive had James Crumbley used a cable lock, a trigger lock, or stored the gun in a locked safe. But he did none of those things, said McDonald, who even demonstrated for the jury how to install a cable lock, stating "that takes less than 10 seconds."

In an exclusive interview with the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, the jury foreman said the storage of the gun was the key issue that drove him to convict James Crumbley.

Prosecutors say Crumbleys could have prevented the massacre

At both trials, the prosecution and defense hammered away at the same themes: One side maintained the Crumbleys were careless, negligent parents who bought a troubled son a gun and failed to secure it, while the other said the parents never saw any signs that their son was mentally ill or would ever harm someone, that the gun wasn't a gift their son could use freely, and that it was hidden.

Prosecutors has long argued that the Crumbleys — more than anyone else — could have prevented the massacre had they disclosed to school officials that their son had access to a gun when they were summoned over his troubling behavior. On the morning before the shooting, the boy was pulled from geometry class over a drawing he had made on homework sheet that included a gun, a human being bleeding, and the words "Bloods everywhere ... My life is useless ... The thoughts won't stop, help me."

The parents were summoned to the school over the drawing, though the Crumbleys returned to their jobs after they met with the counselor and dean of students, vowing to get their son help within 48 hours. The school officials concluded the student was no threat to himself or others, and let him return to class.

Two hours later, the boy fired his first shot.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com