Ethan Crumbley was 15 when he killed four people in Oxford, a township in Oakland County, Michigan, on November 30, 2021. He was charged as an adult the following day. In October 2022 he pleaded guilty to all 24 counts against him, among them four counts of first-degree murder and one count of terrorism causing death. After a hearing on whether a sentence of life without parole could lawfully be imposed on someone his age, the trial judge ruled in September 2023 that it could. On December 8, 2023 he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. That sentence is again before the Michigan Court of Appeals, to which the Michigan Supreme Court returned the case in September 2026.
Four people died on November 30, 2021: Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana and Justin Shilling. The charges against Crumbley also included seven counts of assault with intent to murder. Each of the four who died is the subject of a separate count of first-degree murder.
On December 1, 2021 the Oakland County Prosecutor charged him as an adult. At his arraignment he was 15 years old, and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. Bond was denied. The initial charges were one count of terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of intent to murder; the prosecutor said more charges were likely. The case went to the Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac.
The charging document eventually ran to 24 counts. These were four counts of first-degree murder, one count of terrorism causing death, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and twelve counts of a further offense under the state's arms law that applies when an offense is committed during a felony.
On Monday, October 24, 2022, Crumbley appeared before the Oakland County Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to all 24 counts. The Oakland County Prosecutor said there were no plea deals, no reductions and no sentencing agreements. The pleas meant there would be no trial; what remained was the question of sentence. For first-degree murder and terrorism causing death, the two most serious charges, the possible sentences ranged from a minimum of 25 to 40 years up to life without the possibility of parole.
Because Crumbley was a minor at the time of the offenses, Michigan law, following the United States Supreme Court's 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama, did not permit the court to impose a life term without parole as a matter of course. The prosecution had to show that such a sentence was warranted. A hearing to decide the question began in late July 2023 and ended on Friday, August 18, 2023, after four days of testimony spread over several weeks. The judge set his decision for Friday, September 29, 2023, in a virtual hearing that was not the sentencing itself.
On September 29, 2023 the judge ruled that the prosecution had rebutted, by clear and convincing evidence, the presumption that a sentence of life without parole would be disproportionate. He weighed Crumbley's age and background and gave them little to moderate weight because the evidence on them conflicted. He found that the circumstances of the offenses were not the product of youthful impulsiveness, and that the prospects of rehabilitation were slim. In his words, the defendant "has to be the one who wants to change if he is to be rehabilitated." The ruling meant life without parole was an available sentence; it did not itself impose it. Had the judge ruled the other way, the sentence would have carried a minimum of 25 to 40 years, followed by eligibility for parole.
Crumbley was sentenced on Friday, December 8, 2023, in Pontiac. The judge imposed life without the possibility of parole. In explaining the sentence he referred to the extensive planning involved and said Crumbley could have changed course at any point. Sentencing was the final step in the trial court.
Crumbley's parents were each prosecuted separately by the Oakland County Prosecutor. The jury convicted his mother on February 6, 2024 and his father on March 14, 2024, each on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each death. On April 9, 2024 each received a sentence of 10 to 15 years.
In June 2024 new defense counsel moved in the trial court to withdraw Crumbley's guilty pleas and to vacate the sentence and hold a fresh sentencing. The trial judge denied both requests in December 2024, finding the pleas were "knowingly, voluntarily, and accurately given." Crumbley applied to the Michigan Court of Appeals for leave to appeal, seeking reversal of the sentence, permission to withdraw his pleas or a remand for resentencing. On Tuesday, May 6, 2025 the Court of Appeals denied the application "for lack of merit in the grounds presented."
The case did not end there. On September 17, 2026 the Michigan Supreme Court sent it back to the Court of Appeals to consider three questions: whether his trial counsel failed to adequately direct, prepare and supervise the testimony of an expert witness for the defense; whether the trial court erred in applying the factors from Miller v. Alabama; and whether the trial court was correct to hold that statements Crumbley made at sentencing waived his right to challenge the sentence on appeal. His appellate counsel, a lawyer with the State Appellate Defender Office, had argued that the guilty pleas did not waive his appellate rights. The remand is pending, and the sentence of life without the possibility of parole remains in place.
Crumbley pleaded guilty to every count. The disputes since the pleas have concerned the sentence and the manner in which the pleas and his statements at sentencing are to be treated. The Michigan Court of Appeals rejected the first set of arguments in May 2025; the second set is pending on remand.
November 30, 2021: Four people killed in Oxford, Michigan.
December 1, 2021: Charged as an adult in Oakland County; arraigned, a not-guilty plea is entered, and bond is denied.
October 24, 2022: Pleads guilty to all 24 counts in the Oakland County Circuit Court, Pontiac.
Late July to August 18, 2023: Hearing on whether life without parole may be imposed.
September 29, 2023: The judge rules that life without parole is an available sentence.
December 8, 2023: Sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
February 6, 2024 and March 14, 2024: His parents are each convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
April 9, 2024: Each parent is sentenced to 10 to 15 years.
June 2024: Motion to withdraw the pleas and for resentencing; denied in December 2024.
May 6, 2025: Michigan Court of Appeals denies leave to appeal.
September 17, 2026: Michigan Supreme Court returns the case to the Court of Appeals.