Michigan school shooting victim's mother says Crumbleys' sentencing 'sends message to parents'

Updated

The mother of a Michigan school shooting victim said Wednesday that the sentencing of the gunman's parents “sends a message to parents all around.”

Nicole Beausoleil — mother of 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, who was killed in the 2021 Oxford High School shootingspoke with Savannah Guthrie on the "TODAY" show about Tuesday's sentencing of James and Jennifer Crumbley.

The Crumbleys each received 10 to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for what prosecutors say was their gross negligence in helping facilitate their son's shooting rampage.

"It sends a message to really listen to your children," Beausoleil said of the sentence. "There should be accountability for every action that we have."

Beausoleil sat through the majority of the trial, coming face to face with James Crumbley, 47, and Jennifer Crumbley, 46, while delivering her impact statement, which she said provided "almost a sense of relief."

"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 reflected. "I wanted to let the parents know exactly how I felt that day."

When asked about the apology statements made by both of the Crumbleys, Beausoleil dismissed them as disingenuous.

Nicole Beausoleil, mother of Madisyn Baldwin, reads her victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing for James and Jennifer Crumbley on April 9, 2024. (Mandi Wright / Detroit Free Press / USA Today Network)
Nicole Beausoleil, mother of Madisyn Baldwin, reads her victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing for James and Jennifer Crumbley on April 9, 2024. (Mandi Wright / Detroit Free Press / USA Today Network)

"I felt like it was a way for them to again place blame on somebody else versus themselves," Beausoleil said. "In those statements, there was still no accountability for their actions."

The Crumbleys' sentencing marks an American first, as they are the first parents to be charged and convicted on charges related to a mass shooting perpetrated by their child.

The gunman, who was 15 when he killed four students at his school, is serving a life sentence.

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