LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Prosecutors laid out why they are charging the parents of a teenager who killed four students and injured seven others at Oxford High School in November 2021.

On Tuesday, prosecutors told an appeals court that Ethan Crumbley’s extreme drawings and the boy’s fascination with guns should have been a wake-up call on the day of the shootings, and for his parents in the weeks and days leading up to the shooting.

A three-judge panel heard arguments in the case that could send James and Jennifer Crumbley to prison if they’re eventually convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter tied to the killings.

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The prosecutors have argued that the Crumbleys ignored their son’s cries for helps and numerous meetings with school administrators which expressed their concerns about his behavior. They’re also accused of buying the gun their son used in the shooting and not locking it up properly.

Ethan, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, has pleaded guilty to terrorism and murder and could be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The Crumbleys have been ordered to trial in suburban Detroit; the case was suspended in November when the Michigan Supreme Court paused the proceedings and told the appeals court to take a look at the charges.