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A jury has found Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of a 15-year-old mass shooter guilty of manslaughter for the deaths of four high school students.
Steve and Ai St Juliana wear matching sweatshirts almost every day, each adorned with a flower in the top left corner.
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These coordinated outfits bring a touch of color to their lives, which they describe as becoming “duller” since the loss of their empathetic and athletic 14-year-old daughter, Hana, whose name means flower in Japanese. The five petals of the flower symbolize each family member, with Hana’s name written in Japanese in the center.
Hana was the youngest of the four students killed at Oxford High School in 2021 when 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley carried out the shooting. Tate Myre, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17, were also victims of the attack. Seven others, including a teacher, were wounded.
The school shooting, the worst in the state’s history, deeply affected Oxford Township, a suburb north of Detroit with a population of 22,000.
“Hana was always laughing, always bringing joy to people,” recalled her father, Steve St Juliana, at their family home in Ortonville, Michigan.
“Every day without her is a new struggle. She was the heart and soul of our family.”
In December, more than two years after the shooting, a judge sentenced Crumbley to life in prison without parole, the maximum sentence.
His mother, Jennifer Crumbley, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday, marking the first time a parent has been found guilty of such charges for their child’s involvement in a mass shooting.
The case has sparked discussions about who else can be held accountable when a child commits a mass shooting. The Crumbleys provided Ethan with the handgun used in the attack, and they attempted to flee after being charged with involuntary manslaughter.
James Crumbley, the boy’s father, will face a separate trial on the same charges in March. Each count of manslaughter carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
The school has also faced criticism for its handling of the tragedy.
Before the Oxford shooting, Kayla LeMieux had not thought about Ethan Crumbley since he was a nine-year-old boy living across the street from her in nearby Lake Orion, Michigan.
Ms. LeMieux worked with Ethan’s mother, Jennifer, at a restaurant in 2015 and was close with the Crumbley family after they moved into a nearby apartment in Lake Orion before settling in Oxford.
She recalled instances where Ethan displayed troubling behavior, such as destroying a bird’s nest and lying.
In court, Ethan Crumbley’s attorneys portrayed him as a neglected child suffering from mental illness.
Prosecutors argued that the Crumbleys were negligent in their parenting, focusing more on their extramarital affairs and horses than addressing their son’s declining mental health.
Ms. LeMieux eventually called Child Protective Services out of concern for Ethan’s well-being.
Legal experts noted that while parents are typically not held responsible for their children’s crimes, certain circumstances in the Crumbley case warranted charges against them.
The family bought Ethan the handguns used in the shooting just days before as a Christmas present and failed to secure it properly. Additionally, they disregarded warnings from school officials about Ethan’s concerning behavior.
While the Crumbleys are the first to face manslaughter charges for their child’s mass shooting, prosecutors are increasingly holding third parties accountable for homicides committed by others.
The St Julianas expressed relief that the Crumbleys are being held accountable for their negligence. They emphasized the need for justice but acknowledged that nothing could bring their daughter back.
One month prior, an independent firm called Guidepost Solutions published its final report concerning the school’s handling of the shooting incident.
The investigation revealed several shortcomings on the part of school officials, who neglected to inspect Crumbley’s backpack for weapons despite teachers uncovering his disturbing and violent drawings.
Shortly thereafter, Crumbley carried out the shooting rampage, targeting students mere hours after being allowed back into class.
Additionally, the report highlighted that the school board actively discouraged staff from cooperating with investigators. Steve St Juliana, expressing his dismay, emphasized the damning nature of the report, which outlined a series of errors made by the school from start to finish. Despite this, he lamented that the school administration seemed intent on evading accountability.
Requests for comment directed towards the Oxford Community Schools district remained unanswered. In response to the tragedy, Mr St Juliana and other grieving parents have initiated legal action against the district.
However, in March, an Oakland County judge dismissed several civil suits against the school, citing governmental immunity for the district and its employees. The judge reasoned that Ethan Crumbley himself was the primary cause of the injuries and damages inflicted.
Nevertheless, the St Julianas are steadfast in their efforts to ensure that the memories of their daughter and the other victims endure. They have embarked on a fundraising campaign to establish a memorial garden in a popular local park, intending to plant four cherry trees and include small tokens representing each victim’s life.
Mr St Juliana emphasized that the garden serves as a poignant reminder to the community to remain vigilant and never forget the tragedy that occurred.
