James Crumbley, like his wife and son, is on trial for the Michigan shooting

Opening statements will begin Thursday morning in the trial of James Crumbley, in the same courtroom in Pontiac, Michigan, where his wife was convicted last month of failing to stop their son from committing the worst school shooting in Michigan history to be carried out.

Mr. Crumbley faces the same charges as his wife, Jennifer Crumbley: four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the four students killed by their son, who was 15 when he opened fire in an Oxford High hallway on Nov. 30, 2021 School.

The teen, Ethan, pleaded guilty last year to 24 charges, including first-degree murder. But in a rare move, prosecutors have also sought to hold his parents criminally responsible, saying they ignored warning signs about their son’s mental health and plans for the deadly rampage that also injured seven people.

Their lawyers have said the couple had no idea their son was capable of such violence, and Mrs Crumbley, 45, testified she had not seen him as a danger to others. However, jurors found her guilty after eleven hours of deliberation.

Mr. Crumbley, 47, who requested a separate trial, will face a different jury, but with many of the same arguments made by prosecutors, along with an additional factor for jurors to consider: He bought the 9-millimeter Sig Sauer pistol his son used. to kill his classmates, Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Justin Shilling, 17; and Hana St. Juliana, 14.

That purchase, which came four days before the shooting and was intended as an early Christmas gift, “is the one differentiator that makes his case more of an uphill battle” for Mr. Crumbley, said Mark Chutkow, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor. in Michigan.

But, he added, involuntary manslaughter is a charge that can be interpreted broadly, leaving jurors plenty of room for subjectivity — and no guarantee that prosecutors can obtain a second conviction.

“It’s a different jury,” Mr. Chutkow said. “And every time you have a new business, it’s like rolling the dice again.”

At her trial last month, Ms Crumbley was described by prosecutors as a distant and neglectful mother who had an extramarital affair and sometimes showed more interest in caring for her horses than her son. But prosecutors could take a different approach with Mr. Crumbley, who was videotaped at a police station shortly after the shooting repeatedly saying “I love you” to his son and then sobbing before an interview with officers.

“I think he has more opportunities to portray a more sympathetic portrait of himself,” Mr. Chutkow said.

Prosecutors will most likely focus on how the teen gained access to the gun, which he brought to school in his backpack. Neither his parents nor school officials searched the bag the morning of the attack, when the Crumbleys were called to a meeting with a counselor after a teacher saw Ethan making violent drawings.

In her testimony last month, Mrs Crumbley said her husband was more familiar with firearms and was responsible for storing the weapon.

However, at the time of the shooting, Michigan did not require adults to keep guns in their homes, out of the reach of children. State legislators legislation passed last year requiring firearms stored in the presence of minors to be unloaded and locked up. The rules came into effect last month.

During Ms Crumbley’s trial, prosecutors also introduced evidence, including multiple text messages, showing that Ethan had been struggling with mental health issues in the months before the shooting. He claimed his house was haunted and that he heard or saw things that weren’t there.

Several of those messages were sent to a friend, and some to Mrs Crumbley. It was unclear whether Ethan had shared similar texts with his father, but messages exchanged by the Crumbleys suggest the couple was aware of their son’s distress to some extent.

Ethan had also kept a diary in which he wrote about a plan to cause bloodshed. “My parents won’t listen to me when it comes to help or a therapist,” he wrote. Judge Cheryl A. Matthews, who also presided over his wife’s case, last month denied Mr. Crumbley declined to exclude his son’s diary entries and text messages from evidence.

It is unclear whether Mr. Crumbley will testify in his own defense, as his wife did. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment. Mrs. Crumbley cannot be forced to testify against her husband.

Ethan is unlikely to testify. During his mother’s trial, Judge Matthews did not require him to do so because he was expected to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The teen was sentenced to life in prison without parole in December, but can still appeal his sentence.

Ms Crumbley’s conviction may also be appealed. She will be sentenced next month and faces up to 15 years in prison.