The mother of one of Ethan Crumbley’s victims slammed his remorseless parents for refusing to take accountability for their role in their son’s rampage at their sentencing.
Nicole Beausoleil, who’s daughter Madisyn Baldwin, 17, was murdered along with three other classmates in the 2021 Oxford High School Shooting, said the response from the convicted parents was ‘a slap in the face.’
James and Jennifer Crumbley were each handed the maximum sentence of up to 15 years for involuntary manslaughter, after they ignored their son’s pleas for mental health help before buying him the gun used in the massacre.
The couple apologized to their son’s victims at sentencing, but also proclaimed that they felt their convictions were unfair, with James declaring ‘the truth has not been heard.’
Jennifer also sparked backlash by warning that ‘this could happen to any parent’ and that she still loved her murderous son ‘unconditionally.’
Beausoleil said their response was ‘unacceptable’, telling the TODAY Show: ‘I felt like it was a way for them to place blame on somebody else versus themselves.’
Nicole Beausoleil, who’s daughter Madisyn Baldwin, 17, was murdered in the 2021 Oxford High School Shooting, said James and Jennifer Crumbley’s sentencing response was ‘a slap in the face’
The Crumbleys apologized to theior victims families, but also declared that ‘the truth has not been heard’ and warned that ‘any parent’ could end up in their situation
Madisyn Baldwin, 17, was killed in the massacre alongside three other classmates, with seven others injured when Ethan Crumbley, 15, opened fire in his school
Beausoleil spoke out after delivering a heart-wrenching victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing, where she told the parents: ‘You’ve shown no remorse or respect to our family.’
‘The words involuntary should not be part of your sentence,’ she said.
The stricken mother echoed these remarks following their sentencing, feeling they have taken ‘no accountability for their actions.’
‘There was no remose, it was just them saying, ‘We thought we had a good kid.”
Beausoleil added that she was particularly offended by James Crumbley directing his final remarks before sentencing to the family of Tate Myre, another of his son’s victims.
‘It was just unacceptable,’ she said. ‘It felt like a slap in the face to us once again, stating that we were pushing hard for the facts… it was a disgraceful thing.’
Beausoleil was one of several victims who read impact statements at the hearing, where she launched into an emotional tirade at the parents and listed the ways she was helping her daughter at the same time they were ignoring their son.
Asked about what it was like to finally confront the Crumbleys, she said it was a moment of ‘relief.’
Beausoleil delivered a heart-wrenching victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, where she told the parents: ‘You’ve shown no remorse or respect to our family’
The Crumbleys were each sentenced to up to 15 years behind bars, the maximum sentence
The couple’s son Ethan was 15 when he opened fire on classmates at Oxford High School in November 2021, killing four and injuring seven others. He is currently serving life without the possibility of parole
Madisyn Baldwin, 17, (left) and Hana St Juliana, 14, (right) died in the 2021 shooting rampage at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit
Justin Shilling, 17, (left) and Tate Myre, 16, (right) were also killed in the senseless shooting
‘I played that day over and over in my head, it’s a constant reminder of the events that I went through that day,’ she said.
‘I wanted to let the parents know exactly how I felt that day, after watching video surveillance of them, and seeing their demeanors, and the questions they had and what they were worried about, versus what I was going through.
‘Really, it’s just showing the difference in parenting, and the difference of a loving mother and a mother that really just cared more for herself.’
Although both James and Jennifer apologized to the victims in their sentencing statements, Beausoleil said she did not feel their remarks were genuine.
‘I felt like it was a way for them to place blame on somebody else versus themselves,’ she said.
‘In those statements, there was still no accountability for their actions, there was no remorse.’
Despite their pleas for leniency, the judge went even further than the prosecution’s requests and handed down the maximum possible sentence on both parents, which Beausoliel said she was glad to see as it would ‘send a message.’
‘It sends a message to really listen to your children, there should be accountability for every action that we have,’ she said.
‘And it sends a message to parents all around that children come first, and they should be the priority.’
James Crumbley is seen crying in court Monday as he and wife Jennifer received a landmark 10 to 15 year sentence for their son Ethan’s 2021 school massacre
Jennifer glares at James Crumbley during their sentencing hearing. The couple have been estranged for years, asked to have their trials separated, and have each spent 27 months in jail since their arrest
Fifteen years was the maximum sentence available to the former couple, who will each have two years subtracted from their sentences for time served.
The parents were convicted at separate trials in February.
The Crumbleys’ sentences will last at the minimum of 10 years, and they will be barred from contacting to their son’s victims’ families.