The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of a tragic shooting at a high school in north Georgia will not face trial with jurors from the same county where the incident occurred. During a court hearing on Thursday, prosecutors and the defense for Colin Gray reached an agreement regarding the change of venue, a rare move in cases involving parents of alleged school shooters.
Colin Gray has pleaded not guilty to 29 charges, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter, related to the September 4 incident at Apalachee High School in Winder. This shooting resulted in the deaths of two students and two teachers, with several others injured. Both Gray and his son, Colt Gray, have entered not guilty pleas.
Investigations revealed that Colin Gray had given his son an assault-style weapon as a Christmas gift, fully aware of the boy’s worsening mental health status in the weeks leading to the shooting. Prosecutors further unveiled that the son had an unhealthy fixation on school shooters, evidenced by a shrine dedicated to the perpetrator of the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting.
During the hearing, Gray’s defense attorney sought to move the trial out of Barrow County, citing concerns over potential jury bias due to extensive local media coverage. Prosecutors concurred, acknowledging that the emotional impact of the shooting made it unsuitable for local jurors. Discussions shifted to whether to select jurors from another county in north Georgia or to relocate the trial entirely, possibly to south Georgia.
Defense attorney Jimmy Berry suggested Thomas County as a potential venue, arguing that its residents, who primarily receive news from Tallahassee, Florida, may have been less exposed to the case details. Conversely, prosecutors proposed jurors from nearby Walton County, though Judge Nick Primm expressed concerns about potential personal connections due to its proximity to the school.
Judge Primm has yet to make a decision on the venue change, deliberating whether to import jurors from elsewhere or to relocate the entire trial. The shooting resulted in the deaths of teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, along with students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Additionally, a teacher and eight students sustained injuries.
Colin Gray stands as the first parent in Georgia to face charges linked to a school shooting perpetrated by their child. This situation highlights a growing trend of holding parents accountable for their children’s actions in school shootings, reminiscent of the Michigan case where Jennifer and James Crumbley were sentenced to at least 10 years for negligence related to their son’s actions in a 2021 school shooting.
