WINDER, Ga. (Court TV) — The trial for a father charged in connection with a mass shooting at his son’s high school will move out of Barrow County after both the defense and prosecution requested the change.
Colin Gray enters court before a motions hearing on April 17, 2025. (Pool/Court TV)
While both sides wanted to move Colin Gray’s trial, the defense and prosecution had different reasons for wanting it moved and had very different proposals for how the proceedings should continue.
Gray is facing 29 charges, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with a deadly shooting at Apalachee High School in 2024. Police say Gray’s 14-year-old son, Colt Gray, used an assault-style weapon his father had given him as a Christmas gift to carry out the deadly attack. Despite being granted a $500,000 bond in February, Colin appeared at the hearing in a jail uniform and shackles.
Colin’s defense attorney argued that extensive pretrial publicity and numerous fundraisers and rallies in the wake of the shooting have made it impossible for his client to receive a fair trial.
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While District Attorney Brad Smith conceded that there had been plenty of media coverage of the case, he said that the reason the trial needs to be moved is that all of Barrow County is a victim in the case. “This was an attack on the school system, administrators, teachers and students,” Smith said. “We believe that because of the impact of the crime on the county, it would be hard to find a fair and impartial jury.”
Colin’s attorney, Brian Hobbs, wants the entire trial to be moved to another county, “far enough away that media is not going to be an impact,” Hobbs said. “Where people have not already made up their minds, haven’t gone to rallies, haven’t given money, haven’t gone to a restaurant with a sign in their window.”
However, prosecutors believe that moving the entire trial would create larger problems in Barrow County. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith testified at the hearing that as many as 75 of his 130 officers could be subpoenaed and required to travel to testify. Prosecutors also noted that many of the witnesses in the case are minors, who will need to travel with their families, and teachers who would then have to miss school. Smith proposed choosing a jury from a neighboring county, one close enough that the jurors could drive home at the end of each day.
Judge Nicholas Primm, comparing the impact of the school shooting to a nuclear blast, said that while he agreed the trial would need to move, the issue of whether to import a jury or export the trial wasn’t one he was ready to decide. Judge Primm said he would reach out to various jurisdictions before issuing a ruling within 30 days.
