Victims' families see verdict as a milestone but not the finish line

For parents of students killed in the Oxford High School shooting, the conviction of the shooter's mother felt like one step toward the accountability they have been seeking since the massacre more than two years ago — and the potential ushering in of a new era of expanded responsibility to stop mass gun violence.

"It’s a milestone and it feels like it,” said Craig Shilling, whose son Justin was killed in the shooting. He said the conviction in this case was important "because the bleeding has to stop" and the country needs a level of accountability it has lacked.

A jury on Tuesday found Jennifer Crumbley guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Justin Shilling, 17; Tate Myre, 16, and Hana St. Juliana, 14. Crumbley is the first parent in America charged and convicted in a mass school shooting carried out by their child.

"Just the fact that the jury came through was a huge relief to finally get some accountability outside of the shooter himself in this case," said Steve St. Juliana, whose daughter Hana was killed in the shooting.

'Tearing wider a wound that has yet to heal'

Asked about what the verdict could mean broadly nationwide, he said it it should "maybe wake some people up, on the one hand. On the other, I think that in the long run, this is not as huge of an impact as people are trying to make it out to be right now because, yes, it's a precedent, but it's not that unique especially when you look at the circumstances.

"There's parents all the time who have been prosecuted for leaving loaded guns around the house and that are then used in a crime," he said. "This is just a step further, more horrific and when you look at the details of the fact that the parents had the foresight, had the knowledge and just were so grossly negligent, it's different than being able to, you know, use that as a broad brush in the future."

Oakland County officials echoed the parents' statements that the guilty verdict was a move toward accountability.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement that his thoughts were with the victims' families and that he knows "this is not just a reopening of a wound, it is tearing wider a wound that has yet to heal," adding that he can see the burden on the faces of his staff each time they relive the tragedy through their testimony.

Bouchard said he applauded the jury that "plowed new ground" with its verdict.

Bouchard said in his statement that if "among a parent’s first thoughts when you hear word there is an active shooter at your child’s school isn't to wonder if my child is hurt but is my son the gunman" that tells him "you saw the signs and did nothing. Accountability and responsibility matter."

Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter, in a statement, called the guilty verdict a "step toward accountability" and said he appreciated the work and efforts by Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and her team.

Prosecutors and Jennifer Crumbley's attorney are prohibited from commenting on the case publicly because a gag order remains in effect.

Coulter said his heart remains with the families of the four teens killed in the shooting and the Oxford community, saying in the statement: "While their pain and grief can never be diminished, the guilty verdict is a strong signal and an important step toward accountability."

Jennifer Crumbley's words angered father

Shilling said his son Justin was "an awesome individual" who he thinks about every day."He loved life," he said. "He deserved to live it."

Shilling was outraged over testimony from Jennifer Crumbley that she wouldn't change anything about her actions preceding the school shooting committed by her son. During her testimony, Jennifer Crumbley said she has asked herself whether she would have done anything differently and said she “wouldn’t have.” Asked by her attorney whether she would change things if she could, Jennifer Crumbley said, given hindsight, “absolutely” and added, “I wish he would have killed us instead.”

"I felt a slap in my face, and it hurt," Shilling said. "Something like that hurts because I would do a lot of stuff differently."

McDonald had seized on the testimony during her closing argument, reminding the jury that Jennifer Crumbley "said she wouldn't do one thing different."

Shilling said Jennifer Crumbley's conviction is "just one step in the process" and that there is still "one more parent out there that is culpable." James Crumbley's trial on involuntary manslaughter charges is scheduled to begin in March. Ethan Crumbley, the shooter, pleaded guilty and is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Verdict will 'echo throughout every household in the country'

Shilling also mentioned the school district, saying actions "could have been done to prevent this on that level, as well, and that's the next hurdle to come."

Parents have filed multiple lawsuits against the school district alleging that officials did not do enough to protect their children from the shooter. Among the lawsuits' points are that the shooter's backpack was never searched and he was allowed to return to class despite multiple red flags.

Shilling said he feels the verdict will "echo throughout every household in the country." He said parents can't continue living with the uncertainty of whether their children are going to come home for school.

Shilling said the fact that the jurors reached the verdict they did, “shows that the people have spoken and the people are tired of the uncertainty of every day.”

He called this level of accountability "long overdue" and said it could have prevented what happened in Oxford.

“We all have work now," Shilling said. "We all know that we are to be held responsible for anything that we do.”

Contact Gina Kaufman: gkaufman@freepress.com; Keith Matheny: kmatheny@freepress.com, and Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Parents of Oxford victims say verdict a step toward accountability