First mom to be charged in connection with son's school shooting says she wishes he killed her and his dad instead
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: Bill Pugliano / Stringer/Handout / Handout
A mom who is being charged in connection with a school shooting carried out by her son has testified, saying she wishes he would have killed her and his father instead.
Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley massacred four students and injured six others and a teacher at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021.
The student, aged 15 at the time, entered the building with a 9mm handgun that he had purchased with his father, James, during the Black Friday sales whilst his mom, Jennifer, was shopping on her own.
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Now, Jennifer has claimed she wishes that Ethan 'would have killed us instead’ of the students.
The parents are each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count for each student killed by her son.
They are facing a combined 60 years in prison if convicted, marking them as the first parents in the US to be charged in connection with a mass shooting committed by their child.
Ethan was sentenced in December to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In her unprecedented involuntary manslaughter trial on 1 February, the mom testified that her husband was in charge of buying and storing guns in the home, and that it had nothing to do with her.
This comes after it was made public that the couple had allowed their 15-year-old son to purchase a handgun and kept them in their home.
Jennifer told the jurors: “I just didn’t feel comfortable being in charge of that. It was his thing. I didn’t feel comfortable putting the lock thing on it.”
However, when asked if she objected to the gun purchase, she said that she didn’t object.
Explaining how the gun was bought, she said: “I was more angry that they cut into our Christmas tree time. I usually cut my Christmas tree down right after I get back from shopping, but I had to wait for them, so I was irritated.”
After buying the gun, Ethan invited his mom to go to a shooting range with him, which Jennifer was pleased about as it was a ‘fun day’ for the pair which flattered her as James was usually asked to go shooting, but he was busy making DoorDash deliveries.
However, she denied having any connection to the gun or how it was stored in a locked box with a key kept in a beer stein.
She claimed during the trial: “I have asked myself if I would have done anything differently. I wouldn’t have. I wish he would have killed us instead.”
Ethan, now 17, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The 45-year-old went on to deny that she was a victim as she didn’t ‘want to disrespect those families that truly are the victims on this’ case, however, she did admit that she lost a lot during the shooting.