WINDER, Ga. (Court TV) — A teenager accused of killing two teachers and two students at his Georgia high school plans to avoid trial and plead guilty.
Colt Gray appears in court for a status hearing. (Court TV)
Colt Gray, 16, previously pleaded not guilty to 55 charges, including four counts of malice murder, four counts of felony murder and 18 charges of cruelty to children for the shooting at Apalachee High School.
Days after Judge Nicholas Primm approved a request from Colt Gray’s defense to move the case out of Barrow County and seat a jury in Columbia County due to pretrial publicity, the defendant changed course and filed documents indicating he no longer wants to proceed to trial. Colt Gray’s defense lawyers had previously hinted that their client could plead guilty, saying at a hearing in 2025 that they were waiting for a psychological report before making any decisions.
The new filing, reviewed by Court TV, indicates the plea is “non-negotiated,” meaning there is no deal with the prosecution regarding sentencing; rather, the teen will throw himself at the mercy of the court at the hearing scheduled to begin next week.
The shooting on Sept. 4, 2024, killed Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, as well as teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irmie, 53. Surveillance video from inside the school appears to show Colt Gray attending his first and second period classes and then entering the restroom before exiting with a gun and beginning to open fire.
Investigators said there were warnings before the shooting: Colt Gray allegedly built a “school shooter shrine” in his bedroom at his father’s house with photos and articles about Nikolas Cruz, who was convicted of killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.
Colt Gray’s father, Colin Gray, stood trial earlier this year and was convicted of 29 charges in relation to the shooting, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors said that Colin Gray had purchased the assault-style weapon used in the shooting for his son as a Christmas gift and failed to intervene despite his son’s deteriorating mental health in the days and weeks beforehand.
Colt Gray’s plea and sentencing are scheduled to begin on July 24; an earlier scheduling order indicated that the hearing could proceed into the following week. Colin Gray’s sentencing is scheduled to span two days, beginning on July 28.
As a juvenile, Colt Gray was not eligible for a death sentence; Primm will determine whether he will have a chance at parole. Because the plea is non-negotiated, prosecutors are expected to ask for a life sentence.
