Ethan Crumbley, the 17-year-old behind the 2021 Michigan school shooting, had some chilling words to say as he was sentenced to life without parole.
Back in November 2021, Crumbley carried out a horrific school shooting at Oxford High, resulting in the tragic deaths of classmates Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, and Justin Shilling.
Additionally, six other students and a teacher were wounded.
Crumbley - who was just 15 at the time of the incident - pleaded guilty to all 24 charges, including first-degree murder and terrorism, last October. Two months ago, a judge had ruled that he would be eligible for life imprisonment, the most severe punishment in Michigan.
The sentencing followed emotional testimony from witnesses. Family members of the victims shared their grief, grappling with the permanent void left by the loss of their loved ones, as reported by CNN.
Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, addressed Crumbley directly, saying: "We are miserable. Our family has a permanent hole in it that can never be fixed, ever. And there doesn’t appear to be a way out. So, to this day, you are winning."
Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of Madisyn Baldwin, recounted the heartbreaking moment of seeing her daughter's lifeless body at the medical examiner's office after the shooting. "I looked through the glass. My scream should have shattered it," she said.
Jill Soave, Justin Shilling's mother, expressed that her son could have been a friend in times of loneliness and despair. "If you were that lonely, that miserable and lost, and you really needed a friend, Justin would have been your friend - if only you had asked," she said.
Reina St. Juliana, the older sister of Hana St. Juliana, shared the dreams she had for their future, such as thrift shopping and speaking at each other’s weddings. An emotional Reina said: "Instead of speaking at her wedding, I spoke at her funeral. Instead of fishtailing her hair for a game, I curled her hair in a casket."
After he was sentenced to life without parole, Crumbley had some final words for the court.
He said: "I am a really bad person. I have done terrible things that no one should ever do."
Crumbley's actions were premeditated, as revealed by a manifesto he recorded the night before the massacre, claiming he was "going to be the next school shooter" with plans to kill as many people as possible. Disturbing journal entries further exposed his dark thoughts about shooting up the school.
The night before the attack, school staff met with Crumbley and his parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, after a teacher discovered his unsettling journal entries. Despite the alarming content, he was allowed to remain in school, and his bag, containing a firearm, went unchecked.