ABC News set to release documentary on Crumbley trials
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — ABC News is set to release a documentary on the fallout of the Oxford High School shooting and the trials for James and Jennifer Crumbley.
ABC News has released a short trailer for the documentary, called “Sins of the Parents: The Crumbley Trials.” The documentary will follow the recently completed trials, including exclusive access and sit-down interviews with Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald.
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In the trailer, two clips of McDonald are edited together to say, “They purchased that gun for him and bragged about it. You don’t get to walk away from that. That’s a criminal act.”
Both James and Jennifer Crumbley have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and last week were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison. They are the first parents in the U.S. to be held criminally responsible for a mass shooting committed by their child.
Michigan school shooter’s parents sentenced to at least 10 years in prison
Ethan Crumbley was 15 years old when he opened fire on Nov. 30, 2021, at Oxford High School. He killed four students — Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Justin Shilling and Hana St. Juliana — and injured six others and a teacher.
Crumbley pleaded guilty to 24 criminal charges, including murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in December 2023.
Investigators found that the Crumbleys had purchased a Sig Sauer 9 mm handgun for Ethan days before the shooting and that it was not safely secured in the home. Ethan had also shown several signs of mental and emotional distress that McDonald says were ignored — including on the day of the shooting.
On that day, Ethan was pulled from class after a teacher found a drawing of a gun and a wounded man with text that read, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me. Blood everywhere. My life is useless. The world is dead.”
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School officials instructed the family to seek counseling for their son and to not leave him alone. In testimony, Oxford guidance counselor Shawn Hopkins said that he was concerned for Ethan’s wellbeing and was surprised that his parents chose not to take him home. However, in a letter sent to parents following the shooting, school officials said, “At no time did counselors believe the student might harm others based on his behavior, responses and demeanor, which appeared calm.”
The Crumbleys also didn’t tell school officials that they had purchased a gun similar to the one shown in the drawing, and school officials didn’t check Ethan’s backpack, which held the gun.
Michigan now has a storage law that can hold parents or adults criminally liable for failing to secure firearms. Even without it, McDonald was able to convince a jury that the Crumbleys went above and beyond the thresholds of involuntary manslaughter.
In the trial for James Crumbley, McDonald told the jury that parents are not responsible for everything their kids do but “this is a very egregious and rare set of facts.”
“Sins of the Parents: The Crumbley Trials” is scheduled to release Thursday on Hulu.
According to the Detroit News, ABC News reached out to McDonald’s team shortly after the charges were announced and has been working on it ever since. Part of the agreement mandated that the documentary cannot be released until after both trials were over.
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