Ethan Crumbley, who shot and killed four students at a Michigan high school in 2021, was sentenced to life in prison without parole, a judge ruled Friday.
Before his sentencing, the 17-year-old acknowledged that he is a “really bad person.”
“I’m a really bad person. I have done terrible things that no one should ever do,” he told the court, CNN reported.
Ethan Crumbley looks down as he is sentenced to life in prison. POOL Crumbley stands and addresses the court before being sentenced. AP Crumbley is escorted by sheriff’s deputies after being sentenced. AP
Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, opened fire at Oxford High School outside Detroit on Nov. 30, 2021, killing four students: Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana , 14, and Justin. Shilling, 17. Seven other people were injured.
He pleaded guilty last October to all 24 charges against him, including first-degree murder and terrorism. Just two months ago, a judge ruled that the teen would be eligible for life in prison, the harshest punishment possible in Michigan.
The sentencing comes after emotional testimony from witnesses earlier in the day as Judge Kwame Rowe reflected on Crumbley’s fate.
Buck Myre, the father of victim Tate Myre, said he has worn his pain “like a heavy coat.” AP
“We are miserable. Our family has a permanent hole that can never be fixed, ever. And there seems to be no way out. So, to this day, you’re winning,” Myre’s father, Buck, told the teen.
Baldwin’s heartbroken mother recalled seeing her daughter’s lifeless body at the medical examiner’s office after the shooting.
“I looked through the glass. My scream should have shattered him,” Nicole Beausoleil said.
Shilling’s mother told Crumbley, who sat with his head bowed, that he executed someone who could have been a friend when he needed one most.
Ethan Crumbley appears at a shooting range in a video shown in court. AP
“If you were so alone, so miserable and lost, and you really needed a friend, Justin would have been your friend, if you only asked,” Jill Soave said.
“You may have caused pain and terror as you intended, but you did not destroy us,” he added.
St. Juliana’s older sister talked about the things she hoped to do with her when they grew up, like shopping secondhand and speaking at each other’s weddings.
“Instead of speaking at her wedding, I spoke at her funeral,” said an emotional Queen St. Juliana. “Instead of making him a fishtail to play with, she curled his hair into a coffin.”
Crumley posted a photo of a gun on social media. Kylie Ossege, 19, described on Instagram how she had urged Hana St. Juliana “a thousand times” to keep breathing after she was shot. AP
The night before the massacre, Crumbley recorded a manifesto in which he stated that he was “going to be the next school shooter” and said he planned to kill as many people as possible.
He also wrote disturbing diary entries in which he daydreamed about shooting up the school. Crumley wrote that he did not want to die and wanted to be remembered.
Crumbley and his parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, met with school staff the day of the shooting after a teacher found some of his gruesome doodles in his journal, including a gun pointed at the words: “Thoughts are not they will stop. Help me.”
He was allowed to stay at school after his parents resisted taking him home and his bag, which contained a gun, was never searched.
Baldwin, Myre and St. Juliana were shot to death on the day of the massacre. Shilling died from his injuries in hospital the next day.
Ethan Crumbley heard from his victims’ families, as well as survivors of the mass shooting, before a judge ruled he would spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. AP
Attorney Ven Johnson, who represents the four deceased victims, called Friday’s ruling “a critical step toward justice for our clients and all survivors.”
“Despite the two-year delay, the seriousness of the situation endures and this ruling is a crucial step toward accountability,” he said in a statement.
“We wholeheartedly support Judge Kwame Rowe’s decision to sentence him to life in prison without parole.”
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