Current:Home > FinanceMichigan prosecutor on why she embarked on landmark trials of school shooter's parents -DollarDynamic
Michigan prosecutor on why she embarked on landmark trials of school shooter's parents
EchoSense View
Date:2025-04-08 00:28:33
Karen McDonald, the prosecutor who charged the parents of the Oxford High School shooter with involuntary manslaughter and convicted them in first-of-their-kind trials, is opening up about the decision in her only network TV interview.
Jennifer and James Crumbley were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in December 2021, shortly after the shooting in Michigan that left four students dead and seven more injured. They were the the first parents in the United States to go on trial in a mass school shooting carried out by their child.
"What had been done before wasn't really on my mind at all," McDonald said. "I experienced this event much like everybody across the country and particularly in the state, and I'm a parent. The very first question I asked was 'Where did he get that gun, and how did he get it?' And that question led to some really disturbing facts. ... I think it's a rare set of facts, but I also think that we don't ask the question enough. We don't. And we owe that to our kids. We owe that to our kids to ask, 'Where did that weapon come from?' instead of just focusing on the shooter."
During the trials, McDonald and the prosecution focused on the fact that the Crumbleys had purchased the gun for their son just days before the shooting and ignored signs of his mental health needs. James Crumbley also failed to secure the weapon, the prosecution argued.
Jennifer Crumbley was convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter in February. James Crumbley was convicted of the same charges in March. Both will be sentenced in April.
Their son was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in September after pleading guilty to 24 charges, including murder and terrorism.
McDonald said she hopes the conclusion of the trials will help bring closure to the families who lost their children. McDonald said that she and her team "did promise" the parents that she would "treat this case as if these were my own kids."
"I think the sigh of relief from the four parents in the courtroom, of Madisyn (Baldwin), Justin (Shilling), Tate (Myre) and Hana (St. Juliana) was a big deal," McDonald said. "Again, this doesn't bring back their children, but it is an opportunity and a moment of accountability, and I think that's important for everyone, for those parents, for the other kids in that school, and just generally making sure that we all know we have a responsibility to act and use ordinary care, particularly with a deadly weapon and minor."
The precedent set by the convictions of James and Jennifer Crumbley could have a wide impact, as could the terror charges that the shooter was convicted of. This was the first school shooting where the perpetrator was convicted on terrorism charges. McDonald said she hopes these landmark decisions prompt future changes.
"So many of the hundreds and hundreds of kids are affected by mass shootings, and they don't have a scratch on them, but they will never be the same," McDonald explained. "In addition, we had tragically, in Michigan, we had kids who were in the school on November 30, in Oxford that day, and they were also on campus at Michigan State University when there was an active shooting. That leaves trauma and scars, and we have to name that."
- In:
- Ethan Crumbley
- Oxford High School shooting
- Oxford High School
- Jennifer Crumbley
- James Crumbley
- Michigan
Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
TwitterveryGood! (321)
Related
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Workplace dating: Is it OK to play matchmaker with co-workers? Ask HR
- Kansas City mom charged after she 'accidentally placed' baby in oven, prosecutors say
- Jon Stewart is back at his 'Daily Show' desk: The king has returned
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Wisconsin Assembly set to pass $2 billion tax cut package. But will Evers sign it?
- Sweeping bill would expand childcare and early childhood education in Kentucky
- WWE's Maryse Mizanin to Undergo Hysterectomy After 11 Pre-Cancerous Tumors Found on Ovaries
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Dozens of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Rafah
Ranking
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Pittsburgh Steelers cut QB Mitch Trubisky after two disappointing seasons
- Winter storm hits Northeast, causing difficult driving, closed schools and canceled flights
- Mardi Gras beads in New Orleans are creating an environmental concern
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Court uphold life sentences for Atlanta Olympics and abortion clinic bomber
- A Florida earthquake? Really? Initial skepticism gives way to science. Here's why
- Usher Marries Jennifer Goicoechea in Vegas Ceremony During Super Bowl 2024 Weekend
Recommendation
The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
The Best Cowboy Boots You’ll Want to Wrangle Ahead of Festival Season
Buttigieg visits interstate highway bridge in Pacific Northwest slated for seismic replacement
Super Bowl thriller was the most-watched program ever, averaging 123.4 million viewers
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Missing hiker found dead on California's Mount Baldy after citizen's drone tips off authorities
With Western military aid increasingly uncertain, Ukraine builds its own weapons
1 dead, 5 injured in shooting at Bronx subway station