It’s taken a while, but Jeffrey Rupnow will finally have his day in court.
A Wisconsin judge has scheduled Rupnow’s jury trial to begin in March 2027, more than two years after his daughter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, walked into Abundant Life Christian School in Madison and opened fire during a study hall on December 16th, 2024. By the time the shooting was over, teacher Erin West and freshman Rubi Vergara had been killed, six other people had been wounded, and Natalie had taken her own life.
Unlike some school shootings where investigators spend months trying to figure out how a teenager managed to get a gun, that question was answered pretty quickly here.
According to prosecutors, Jeffrey Rupnow allegedly made it incredibly easy.
One of the handguns used in the shooting had been purchased by Rupnow as a Christmas gift for his daughter. Another handgun was partially paid for with Natalie’s own money but legally had to be purchased in her father’s name because she was only 15 years old.
Apparently, there’s a very exclusive Christmas club made up of parents who looked at their troubled children and thought, “You know what would really make the holidays special? GUNS.” Jeffrey Rupnow joined Ethan Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, along with Colin Gray, whose son is accused of carrying out the shooting at Apalachee High School. Because, you know, nothing says celebrating the birth of Jesus quite like wrapping up a 9mm or an AR-15 and sticking a bow on it.
Rupnow is the last member of that unfortunate Christmas crowd to be prosecuted.
Investigators allege his problems went well beyond simply buying the guns. Natalie reportedly struggled with serious mental health issues, including PTSD, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm.
Despite that, prosecutors say Rupnow gave her regular access to firearms, let her handle them, allowed her to pack guns for trips to the shooting range, and even told her how to figure out the combination to his gun safe by explaining that it was his Social Security number backward.
Authorities also allege that the day before the shooting, he removed one of the pistols from the safe at Natalie’s request so she could clean it, then later admitted he couldn’t remember whether he had locked it back up afterward.
Earlier this year, Rupnow’s attorneys tried to convince the court that the charges should be thrown out altogether. Their argument was that the criminal complaint omitted important facts and contained misleading information.
They also previously argued that Rupnow never actually gave Natalie the combination to the gun safe, only a clue that would allow her to figure it out. That’s certainly one way to split hairs. “I didn’t give her the code, Your Honor. I just gave her the answer to the code.”
The judge didn’t buy it.
The motion to dismiss was denied, allowing the case to move forward toward trial.
Now the next major step has been scheduled. Jury selection is expected to begin on March 8, 2027, with testimony starting the following day. The trial is expected to last about nine days.
If Rupnow is convicted on all three charges, two counts of providing a dangerous weapon to a person under 18 resulting in death and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, he faces a maximum sentence of eighteen years in prison.
Even if he receives every single year allowed under the law, it’s hard to argue that 18 years is enough when two innocent people are dead, six others were wounded, and countless lives were permanently changed. Prison won’t bring back Erin West or Rubi Vergara. It also won’t erase the trauma suffered by the survivors or the students who had to live through that day.
Still, holding parents accountable when they arm their deeply troubled children is a step that has been overdue for far too long. The Crumbleys have already been convicted. Colin Gray has been convicted. Now Jeffrey Rupnow, the last member of the Christmas gun club to face prosecution, will finally have to answer for the choices prosecutors say helped make one of Wisconsin’s deadliest school shootings possible. Whether the eventual punishment fits the damage done is another question entirely.
(Sources)
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