Like his wife, James Crumbley is accused of being a bad parent whose decisions ultimately cost four Michigan children their lives — all murdered in a school shooting carried out by his son. Unlike his wife, James Crumbley made one key decision that prosecutors are likely to focus on as he goes to trial in part two of the historic case: He took his son on a Black Friday shopping trip in 2021 and bought a gun the teen had long begged for, the same one Ethan Crumbley would use four days later to shoot up his high school, USA Today reports. According to his wife's testimony, James Crumbley also was responsible for storing the gun. Veteran criminal defense attorney Bill Swor said of the gun purchase: "I think it's a real problem for him."
After more than two years behind bars, James Crumbley will be the third and final member of his family to face the justice system over a mass school shooting that left four children dead and seven other people injured, including a teacher. The prosecution maintains that the case hinges on a lot more than James Crumbley buying the murder weapon. He also made multiple missteps, prosecutors argue, similar to the ones that were cited in his wife's trial, which ended last month with Jennifer Crumbley's conviction of involuntary manslaughter, the first U.S. parent held criminally responsible for a mass school shooting carried out by their child. James Crumbley faces the same charges as prosecutors argue that he and his wife, through their gross negligence, caused the deaths of Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17. Their son pleaded guilty to murder and other charges and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.