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James Crumbley, the father of the Oxford High School shooter, was found guilty Thursday of involuntary manslaughter for his role in the killings of four students in 2021.

The verdict will not bring back anyone鈥檚 children, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said at a press conference after the verdict was read, flanked by the parents of the students who were killed.

鈥淚 will forever remain in awe of their strength and perseverance that they have shown in the last two and a half years,鈥� McDonald said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege to do this and we know that it can鈥檛 take the pain away, but It鈥檚 one small step towards accountability.鈥�

The decision in Crumbley鈥檚 case follows the February conviction of Crumbley鈥檚 wife, , on the same charges, one involuntary manslaughter charge for each child their son killed. The cases mark the first time in the U.S. parents of a mass shooter have been held directly responsible for the deaths their child caused.

The shooter was sentenced to life without parole in December.

The prosecution had the task of proving that Crumbley鈥檚 actions or inactions made the shooting possible, as Crumbley had the legal duty as a parent to prevent his child from harming others and should鈥檝e taken reasonable actions to mitigate possible harm.

Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of Madisyn Baldwin who was killed in the shooting, thanked the other parents standing with her over the course of the two and a half years since the shooting for their friendship and support through all three prosecutions. All four families of the victims are forever changed and will continue fighting for accountability on behalf of their children, she said.

鈥淭his is not just a verdict for attention or media,鈥� Beausoleil said at the press conference. 鈥淭his is a verdict that actually needs to be put to the platform that it is: How are we going to use this verdict to actually make that change?鈥�

For five days, , witnesses relayed the events leading up to and following the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford High School, as well as the horror and violence individuals faced as James Crumbley鈥檚 son opened fired at teachers and students, injuring seven people and killing four of his classmates: Baldwin, Hana St. Julianna, Justin Shilling and Tate Myre.

There were several small actions Crumbley could have taken to prevent the shooting and signs of mental distress from his son that a parent should have acknowledged and sought out help for, McDonald said in her closing arguments Wednesday.

鈥淭here were 1,800 students at Oxford High School. There was one parent who suspected that their son was the school shooter and it was James Crumbley,鈥� McDonald said, , telling the operator that a gun was missing from his house.

Crumbley鈥檚 lawyer, Mariell Lehman, told the jury during her closing arguments that although the prosecution has shown them 鈥渉aunting things; tragic things,鈥� they have not shown evidence that Crumbly knew that his son was a danger to others. If they had evidence to prove Crumbley knew what his son was planning, jurors would have seen it.

鈥淭he prosecution wants you to find that James could foresee that his son was a danger to others and that James acted in a grossly negligent manner or breached a duty that he owed to other people, despite having no information at the time,鈥� Lehman said during her closing arguments. 鈥淵ou saw no evidence that James had any knowledge that his son was a danger to anyone. You heard no testimony and saw no evidence that James Crumbley knew what his son was planning.鈥�

Crumbley had bought his son the gun used in the shooting four days before the killings, having taken him to the shooting range on several occasions and supervising his usage there.

But during Crumbley鈥檚 trial, as well as that of Jennifer Crumbley, questions were raised on .

Ultimately, it would have taken 鈥渏ust one tragically small measure of ordinary care to avoid four deaths鈥� McDonald said calling attention to the meeting the Crumbleys were called to at the school the day of the shooting after the shooter drew a sketch of the gun his father had bought him days prior on his math assignment.

Shawn Hopkins, the school counselor at the meeting the day of the shooting, testified during Jennifer Crumbley鈥檚 trial that he was , or that their son would be able to access it. In addition to the drawing of the gun, there was a drawing of a body with blood coming out of it and a few statements including 鈥渢he thoughts won鈥檛 stop鈥� and 鈥渉elp me.鈥�

Hopkins said on Monday that he didn鈥檛 tell either parent that they absolutely had to take their son home and the shooter expressed interest in returning class. Hopkins said he did insist that the parents seek out mental health care for their son who had told him that he was experiencing sadness over the recent death of his dog and grandma and was missing his friend who had moved away.

And though neither parent told their son at the meeting that they cared about him after Hopkins told him at the end that he cared about him, Hopkins said James Crumbley did speak to the shooter.

鈥淗e was talking to his son and mentioned that, you know, 鈥榊ou have people you can talk to; you can talk to your counselor; you have your journal; we talk鈥� and it felt appropriate at that time,鈥� Hopkins said.

If the shooting had not happened, Hopkins said it was his plan to check in with the shooter to see if his parents had sought out any mental health services for him. And if not, he said he would have called Child Protective Services.

On Tuesday, Oakland County Sheriff鈥檚 Office Detective Lt. Timothy Willis offered insight on the shooter鈥檚 journal saying that in all the 22 pages the shooter wrote in, he referenced wanting to commit a school shooting. There were also passages where the shooter talks about wanting to get help.

One entry reads: 鈥淚 have zero HELP for my mental problems and it鈥檚 causing me to SHOOT UP THE F鈥擨NG SCHOOL.鈥� Another entry reads: 鈥淚 want help but my parents don鈥檛 listen to me so I can鈥檛 get any help.鈥�

Later entries chronicle the shooter receiving his gun from Crumbley and detailing his plan to kill people at his school.

Edward Wagrowski, an Oakland County Sheriff鈥檚 detective at the time of the shooting, testified last week, showing the jury text messages between the shooter and his friend months before the shooting detailing mental health struggles, including hearing voices.

One text from the shooter reads, 鈥淚 actually asked my dad to take [me] to the Doctor yesterday but he just gave me some pills and told me to 鈥楽uck it up.鈥�

If Crumbley had done the simplest of things, as he knew his son was struggling, four kids would still be alive, McDonald said in her closing arguments. If he had listened to his son or read his journal and believed what it said, he could have intervened as the violence his son was planning was foreseeable.

鈥淗e sees that drawing that morning when he goes to the school and what does it say? It says, 鈥榟elp me.鈥� How many times does this kid have to say it? He says it in his journal. He says it to his friend and what is he saying? 鈥業 asked my parents; I asked my dad,鈥欌�� McDonald said. 鈥淎nd if that isn鈥檛 enough, he writes the words 鈥渉elp me鈥� on a piece of paper and his parents, James Crumbley is called to the school to see it and what did he say? He says, 鈥榃e gotta go work.鈥欌��

The defense only called on one witness as the burden of proof was not on them. Crumbley鈥檚 sister, Karen Crumbley, talked about seeing her brother and nephew, the shooter, in April and then again in the summer, months before the shooting.

Crumbley, who lives in Florida, said she and James Crumbley had been in the hospital with their mother as she was sick at the time. Karen Crumbley said their mother died on April 6, 2021, and the shooter came to Florida to visit shortly after. She didn鈥檛 observe anything that would have raised concerns for her.

When she came to Michigan for a summer 2021 visit, she said she didn鈥檛 observe anything that gave her reasons to worry about her nephew鈥檚 mental state or what kind of care he was receiving from his parents. When asked by the defense if she would have done anything had she observed anything wrong, she said she would have.

鈥淚 would have addressed it and if I would have known anything I would have talked to him. I would have took him home with me if there was any kind of inclination that anything was wrong,鈥� Karen Crumbley said. She added that she would have told her brother if she thought something was wrong, but there was nothing she was concerned about.

Moving forward, more needs to be done to address the ways in which children in America are dying from gun violence, Steve St. Juliana, the father of Hana St. Juliana, said at the press conference after the verdict reading. More needs to be done to tackle kids鈥� declining mental health and other issues and people can鈥檛 simply stand behind Second Amendment rights and not talk about what is killing kids.

鈥淲e can put people on the moon; we can build skyscrapers, huge monuments like the Hoover Dam and we can鈥檛 keep our kids safe in schools?鈥� St. Juliana said. 鈥淚 think people just need to wake up and take action. Stop accepting the excuses. Stop buying the rhetoric. It is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It鈥檚 nonpartisan. Do not accept any excuse from any of the politicians. This needs to be solved and it needs to be solved now. We do not want any other parents to go through what we鈥檝e gone through.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: [email protected]. Follow Michigan Advance on and .

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