Apalachee shooting suspect’s trial moving out of Barrow County
The murder trial of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray will be moved out of Barrow County and could take place this fall near Augusta, the judge handling the case said Thursday.
Gray, 16, has pleaded not guilty to 55 felony charges including murder in relation to the shooting that killed two teachers and two students and injured nine others at the school on Sept. 4, 2024.
The teenager, 14 at the time of the incident, appeared Thursday in the Barrow County Courthouse before Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm for a discussion on the status of the case.
Gray’s defense attorney, Charlton Allen, said he wants the trial moved from Barrow County, and prosecutor Patricia Brooks did not object to the request.
“It’s hard trying to get outside the metro Atlanta media circle,” the judge said, adding he’d received “a fair amount of radio silence” from some counties he’d approached about hosting the trial. “I can tell you right now the leading candidate is Columbia County.”
All evidence in the case has been provided to the defense, the lawyers said.
Primm recently ordered the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center to provide all recorded jail calls and video visitations for Gray from Feb. 1 through May 7. The teenager’s jail calls have previously been included in case evidence, as well as emails and mail, court records show.
Primm said the chief judge in Columbia County is “more than likely willing to accommodate” the trial this fall, once courthouse renovations have been completed. He said the trial, estimated to take about three weeks, could begin around mid-October if the renovations are finished on schedule.
Colt Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was convicted in March on second-degree murder and other charges tied to the school shooting.
Colin Gray is the first Georgia parent criminally charged in association with a mass school shooting that their child is accused of committing. He is due to be sentenced in late July.
Brooks said she expects Colt Gray’s trial to be quicker than his father’s.
Allen said the defense has a handful of witnesses to call at trial.
Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14-year-old students, and teachers Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall were killed in the shooting. There were 25 victims total, according to Colt Gray’s indictment.
Colt Gray was a bit of a loner who had been bullied at school since the seventh grade and suffered from anxiety, his father told GBI agents.
About the Author
Journalist Rosie Manins is a senior courts and legal affairs reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
