BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — Jurors in the trial of Colin Gray heard closing arguments on Monday and will start deliberations when they return Tuesday morning.
The father initially faced 29 crimes connected to the Apalachee High School shooting in Sept. 2024, including two counts of second degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter and 25 counts of child cruelty.
On Monday, the judge agreed to drop two of the child cruelty charges against him because two students in the class when the shooting happened did not testify in the case.
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The murder charges related to the deaths of two students: Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. Prosecutors explained to jurors that if a child is killed during an act of child cruelty, that constitutes murder in the second degree.
The father faces involuntary manslaughter charges in relation to the deaths of teachers Cristina Irimie and Coach Ricky Aspinwall.
The Barrow County District Attorney’s Office accuses Gray of buying his son, Colt Gray, the semi-automatic rifle used in the mass shooting. They argue he was reckless when he did not restrict his son’s access to guns despite knowing his son was capable of hurting others.
“He was never willing to get his son help or take the rifle out of the room,” said prosecutor Patricia Brooks.
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During closing arguments, Brooks admitted that Georgia law does not require a person to lock up their guns. However, she pointed to the son’s mental health deterioration, violent outbursts and growing interest in school shootings as reasons the father was negligent.
“He was the one man who ensured Colt Gray had the tools he needed to commit mass murder,” Brooks told jurors during closing arguments.
Defense attorney Jim Berry responded, “They indicate Colin Gray knew this would happen. What did he know? Did he know that Colt would do this?”
Berry pulled out a photo of the son and said, “This is the person who went into the high school. This is the person who needs to be punished. He made a conscious decision to do this, a secretive decision.”
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