16-Year-Old High School Shooter Pleads Guilty to 55 Counts; Fate Now Rests In Judge’s Hands

00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, everybody. It is Sunday, July twenty six, and a sixteen year old has pleaded guilty to fifty five counts, including several counts of malice murder, as his own father awaits his sentencing for a high school shooting in Georgia. And with that, everyone, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. It was a heck of a day of court on Friday, as so many victims families audibly sighed in relief as sixteen year old Colt Gray pleaded guilty. He spared a lot of people a lot of pain in a potentially weeks even months long trial that was scheduled for this fall. Colt Gray pleaded guilty to his role in a mass shooting at his high school back in twenty twenty four. And it was powerful in court on Friday to hear those victims' family members and some victims themselves speak directly to the judge.

00:01:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is the case. They made headlines. Look, we used to school shooters. Unfortunately his age maybe stood out, but this is again this story. It didn't have and crass as it sounds. It didn't have the body count that we've seen of a lot of school shootings, but this was one that the dad has been held responsible for the shooting as well, and this might be the direction we see more and more cases go in the country.

00:01:28
Speaker 1: Absolutely, so, sixteen year old Colt Gray was in court, but he was fourteen at the time. Just to bring you up to speed of this mass shooting. And yes, he shot and killed two students, shot and killed two two teachers, but eight more students and another teacher were injured in the school shooting. So this left an entire community just reeling and so many folks in mourning. And right now, what's at stake for this young man. Here's the deal. The minimum sentence is still life in prison. The maximum sentence is life in prison without the possibility of parole. When you're sixteen years old, I guess that does make a big difference. Wait, what do you mean between getting the possibility of PAROLEE A life sentence is a life sentence. But when you're sixteen, and the way our system works, if you can get that judge to give you the added with the possibility of parole, you could conceivably get out. Given how young this young man is.

00:02:33
Speaker 2: I didn't see when he's like when he might be eligible. They usually have a minimum amount of time they do need to serve. I haven't seen that, so, but yeah, it's it's different. He's looking at the possibility the next seventy five years potentially being in prison, or being in prison twenty five fifty. I means still he could be in his fifty sixties and get out. But I don't know what he has to serve. I haven't seen that yet.

00:02:58
Speaker 1: Well, and this is in the state of Georgia, and that is what is at stake right now. Because he had been planning to go to trial, which was scheduled for October. And so when you heard on Friday, this young man, this sixty year and he looks you saw the pictures. He is a kid. He is every bit of sixteen years old. He hasn't even finished growing. It just shows you, like what the potential was and what he is now facing. But when he stood in court and pleaded guilty, the victim's family could be heard saying thank God. I mean, that just gives you an idea of what these families have been holding their breath waiting for this day, but not wanting to have to live through the entire trial and hearing the description of what happened and having so many people have to get up and testify. The toll that takes on people who are already suffering was pretty evident in court, just by the relief that was seen and felt and heard in that courtroom on Friday.

00:03:57
Speaker 2: I mean that the judge has to consider sparing the family. I don't know, parole hearings and appeals and all kinds of stuff, if he can make a decision to make this go away essentially for the families so they don't have to worry about it. Yes, there will be appeals and things like that, but I don't know. Man looking at a clock, wondering, looking at a calendar, I should say, wondering, Okay, this is going to be the year that he's eligible. Now we need to go back to another parole hearing and testify again, and blah blah blah. Yeah, that's worth something.

00:04:28
Speaker 1: And that's the argument that prosecutors are making, that exact one, that these families have been through enough, and these victims have been through enough, Because many people who survived the shooting were there in that courtroom and they shouldn't have to be yes marking their calendars remembering when they have to go back to court to make sure that this now kid but soon to be adult, will never see the light of day. And so some of the students who were wounded in the shooting got up and you could you could hear their young voices. We had some folks, some actually some young people in our house and they heard us listening to this court hearing it was going on. And it was notable just how young these victims were, getting up on that stand saying I no longer feel safe, I hate you, I refuse to let you win this time. It was remarkable to hear just how young these victims were. They were sixteen. They were nervous getting up on that podium and speaking directly to a judge, asking a judge to make sure their former classmate stays behind bars. That's tough when you're that age.

00:05:33
Speaker 2: I mean they were sixteen though, these were fourteen year old kids when this happened a couple of years ago, and including a couple of the victims. I mean, he killed four people. Two of them were teachers, two of them were fourteen year old students. He was a fourteen year old as young as he looks now, he looked younger when he did this.

00:05:49
Speaker 1: It's hard to get your head around. So yes, this happened, by the way. On September fourth, twenty twenty four, we talked about the victims. I always think when we do these stories, we should always just mention their names, honor who they were. Were talking about thirty nine year old Richard Aspenwall, he was a teacher, and fifty three year old Christina Ermi, and then the students were both, as you pointed out, Babe fourteen years old Mason Skirmerhorn and Christian Angulo. And we heard from their family members, their siblings, their parents, and talking about how every day is a nightmare. He stole my baby brother. You're the definition of a coward, one of the victim's sisters said to him. And Cole sat there and listened to each and everyone. I mean, there were dozens of folks who spoke, and in fact, it took so long to get through all of those victim impact statements. We were actually expecting to get the sentencing on Friday afternoon, and we waited all day Friday, but there were so many people who wanted to speak, who wanted to share their pain, who wanted to let that judge know just how much this crime and this young man's actions affected their lives for the rest of their lives. And every one of these folks asked that judge to consider life without the possibility of parole. I don't know what this judge, what the criteria is to determine with someone that young. Obviously his age would have to be taken into consideration when coming up with the sentencing here, whether or not you give him the possibility of parole at this.

00:07:21
Speaker 2: Point, that's the judge's discression. I don't know what he has to follow now with a legal book, he has options, and this is where the judge has to make a decision, and he's using all kinds of factors and concluding victim impact statements. I'm not sure which I mean. I'm not familiar enough with the judge, and we haven't this is not one we've watched we could have any indication of which way this person might lean. But yeah, it's sound like it's in his hands. What do you weigh here? You're essentially giving a sixteen year old kid another chance to have a life decades from now. Do you do that?

00:07:54
Speaker 1: It's tough, it's tough to say, and look, do you take into consideration. I would imagine this is the hope by the defendant, by Colt Gray, that by deciding to plead guilty to these fifty five counts, and by the way, they include several counts of malice, murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, first cruelty to children. They go on and on and on. He pleaded guilty to all of them, sparing the court. Yes, the financial cost of going to trial, the emotional cost for many of these victims families, and should and can that obviously it can be considered, but how much weight should that be given in terms of sentencing. So when we come back, we're going to talk about the other major headline in this story. Colt Gray's father, Colin Gray, was convicted just a few months ago for his role in giving his son the gun that killed all of the four folks at this high school but injured so many others. He was the first person in this country convicted of a murder charge for his son's actions. Will tell you what's happening this week with his father as well. Welcome back everyone. We are talking about the drama in a Georgia courtroom, Sixteen year old Colt Gray is now still a waiting to hear his fate. On Monday, a judge will decide whether or not to give him life in prison with or without parole. At just sixteen, that is a big difference for him. He pleaded guilty to fifty five counts for his role in a mass shooting. He killed two teachers, two other fourteen year olds. And look, the victim impact statements took so long. So many folks wanted to get up and talk about what this young man did to them, to their families, and it took so long that we'll have to wait until Monday to hear his side. Actually, the defense is going to put a few people up on the stand, including his own grandmother, a psychologist, a counselor at the juvenile detention center he's been at. But look, this is still someone who is going to serve the majority of his life behind bars. His father, however, is also facing something similar next week, or I guess it's this week. He's facing a maximum of one hundred and eighty years in prison. What do you think of that? I mean, he was convicted of second degree murder and two counts of involuntary menslaughter, five counts of reckless conduct, eighteen counts of second degree cruelty to children, but one hundred and eighty years behind bars for the role his son played.

00:10:30
Speaker 2: Oh no, he's I know. That's I guess in one way to look at it. But no, he's being convicted for the role he played. He might as well he put gun bullets in the guy's hand who went and shot up with school. The person you put it in the hands of is a fourteen year old who is not supposed to be able to make good decisions when it comes to a weapon. Yes, that makes sense. He's not being I wouldn't look at it. He's not going to jail for his son's actions in jail for his It's tough to understand. And that was the confusing part of the story. And this is one where you could understand if there was ever a case where you go, okay, I see why that parent is being held responsible. This is one.

00:11:13
Speaker 1: Yes, And so we did watch that trial, as so many folks did, because this is a precedent setting trial. There are other states that have cases similar to this that are ready to go, and there was a case in Michigan before Colin Gray, where they were held accountable. But Colin Gray is the first parent to actually face and be convicted of murder charges for his son's mass shooting. So, yes, we are now waiting. July thirtieth is his scheduled sentencing hearing where it looks like he will be spending the rest of his life behind bars for knowingly allowing his son to have access to a firearm. And here's the catch, here's what was proved in court. He knew his son had an unstable mental condition. He knew he was emotionally suffering. He knew he had mental health issues. So why in God's name did you give your son a rifle, an assault rifle for Christmas? Now, he said it was for hunting. He said he was trying to find a way to bond with his son, get him outdoors, get him into something that could focus his mind. He knew he loved video games, and so he thought this was the way forward. You know, he even testified in his own defense, but his wife, his a strange wife, we should say, and his own daughter testified against him, and that certainly held weight with those jurors who heard what his role was in knowing his son's condition and yet still allowing him access to this gun.

00:12:42
Speaker 2: Said that this was not a Oops. If the kid didn't have any issues and you heard that a parent gave their child an ar style weapon, you would go that's bad parenting. You kind of just would. I think the majority of people, if you asked that question in a poll would say no, of course you shouldn't. Now, there are different circumstances, different kids in different areas coming up with guns. Fine, would make some exceptions, but generally speaking, you wouldn't do that. And second gun to Lee, add to that, a kid who has shown violent tendencies or had problems come on.

00:13:15
Speaker 1: Yes, and that was documented and he knew of it. His parents were estranged and look, it was his own mother who called the school. And this was such a chilling part of the story because she noticed that her son, she believed, had the gun with him in school, and she called the school and said, please check my son. He is not stable mentally, he is not good and this was his I believe this is a new school, freshman year, brand new, fresh start. And by the time she made the phone call, and by the time school administrators went to go looking for him, when she was calling them. He was actually in the bathroom assembling the gun. It is so scary. And if they had just at that call, had just taken place ten minutes, fifteen minutes earlier, it could have spared the lives. But at least she did take the action to call the school because she was concerned about what her son was capable of, if she knew that, and he was living with his father part time, and how he couldn't have known that, How he allowed not just allowed access to the gun, but didn't lock it up, didn't make sure it was safely secured, didn't make sure he kept the bullet somewhere else. All of those things were Yes, he was found liable for them, responsible for them, and now it looks like this is something prosecutors will pursue in other cases as well, because they got a pretty quick and a pretty easy conviction against this parent, and that should be a warning. The idea here is to protect other students, to protect schools, to make sure they're safe, and parents obviously have a role in knowing what their kids are capable of and what they have access to.

00:14:49
Speaker 2: No, I mean we see this with yes, this was fourteen, but we see this with kids that are two, three, four get their hands on a gun that wasn't locked up and accidentally shoot themselves or shoot the in the house, and yeah, those parents are held responsible. This is the same concept Robes.

00:15:05
Speaker 1: So yes, this is kind of chilling. But in one week, on Monday and then on Friday, at the beginning of the week, and at the end of the week, we're going to find out the fate of sixteen year old Cold Gray and his father, Colin Gray. We will find out just how long they will spend behind bars. But it looks like both of them may become very, very old men before they're ever going to see the light of day, given what happened on that day two years ago in Georgia. We will keep our eye on this developing situation, but we always appreciate you listening to us, every one. I'm Amy Robot alongside TJ. Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.