"Warnings ignored"

Parents of US rampage killer sentenced to long prison term

The parents must be imprisoned because they ignored all the warning signs.(Bild: kameraone)

In the US state of Michigan, the parents of a school rampage killer were sentenced for the first time in US history on Tuesday. James and Jennifer Crumbley have been sentenced to ten to fifteen years in prison for manslaughter. Their son Ethan shot and killed four classmates in November 2021.

"These convictions are not about bad parenting. These convictions confirm repeated actions or lack of actions that could have stopped an approaching train," said Oakland County District Court Judge Cheryl Matthews, explaining her sentence.

James and Jennifer Crumbley must serve ten to fifteen years in prison for manslaughter.(Bild: kameraone)

Parents did not want to acknowledge mental health problems
Both family members of the victims and the judge accused the parents of negligence. They repeatedly failed to take warning signs seriously, they said.

For example, the parents had been called to the school on the day of the massacre because worrying drawings had been found on their son. The parents were advised to give the boy psychiatric treatment. The couple refused and sent the boy back to the classroom instead. A short time later, tragedy struck.

Gun as a gift
The weapon, a nine-millimeter caliber Sig Sauer pistol, had been given to the 15-year-old as an early Christmas present. The mother then trained with the teenager at a shooting range.

Four pupils killed, seven people injured
On November 30, 2021, Ethan killed four students at Oxford High School north of Detroit and injured seven other people, including a teacher. The then 15-year-old was sentenced to life in prison without parole.