James Crumbley apologizes to victims' families, urges further investigation of shooting
James Crumbley on Tuesday asked Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews to consider time served and probation for his sentence. He appeared to be close to tears as he apologized to the families who lost their children.
"As a parent, our biggest fear is losing our child. … And to lose a child is unimaginable," he said.
“My heart is really broken for everyone involved. I understand my words aren’t going to bring any comfort, I understand that they’re not going to relieve any pain," he said, ""And, quite frankly, they probably just don’t believe me.
"However, I really want the families of Madisyn Baldwin, Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre and Justin Shilling to know how truly sorry I am and how devastated I was when I heard what happened to them.”
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He added: "Part of you will be missing forever, but please know that I am truly very sorry, I am sorry for your loss as a result of what my son did. I cannot express how much I wish that I had known what was going on with him, or what was going to happen, because I absolutely would have done a lot of things differently."
He then asked for leniency: a sentence of time served.
Crumbley echoed Buck Myre, father of Tate, who called for more transparency and investigation into the school district and officials’ actions surrounding the shooting.
“It is time that we all know the truth, we have been prohibited from telling the whole truth, the whole truth has not been told. I’m with you, Mr. Myre. I, too, want the truth,” he said, "because you have not had it. … The truth has not been presented to you.”
Matthews then sentenced James and Jennifer Crumbley both to 10-15 years in prison for their roles in the shooting.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: James Crumbley apologizes to victims' families ahead of sentencing
