Trial of suspected Apalachee High School shooting suspect's father to begin on Monday
The trial of Colin Gray, the father of alleged Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray, is set to begin next week.
On Friday morning, Colin Gray entered the Barrow County Courthouse for his final pretrial hearing ahead of opening statements on Monday.
Earlier this week, attorneys approved the 12 members of the jury as well as three alternates. The jury selection took place in neighboring Hall County after defense attorneys requested a change of venue due to the extensive publicity of the case. While the trial will remain in Barrow County, the prosecutors agreed that the impact of the shooting could make it difficult to seat an impartial jury from the local community.
Friday's hearing included debates over how much of the trial could be shown by the media. A previous motion seeking to limit coverage was withdrawn, but Judge Nicholas Primm did agree to restrict autopsy photos, some crime scene images, and minors who were testifying.
Primm is still reviewing how much the media could show of surveillance video from inside the school during the shooting. An attorney representing the media argued that the stations should have access but would not air graphic content.
Father and son charged in Apalachee High School shooting
Colin Gray and his son, Colt Gray, were both indicted in the Sept. 4 shooting that killed two students and two teachers and injured nine others. The Winder man is the first adult known to be charged in a school shooting in Georgia.
Prosecutors argue that Colin Gray was aware that his son's mental health had deteriorated in the weeks before the shooting, but still gave the teen the assault-style weapon as a Christmas gift and purchased a laser sight, tactical vest, and ammunition for him. Gray was also aware that his son was obsessed with school shooters and even had a shrine above his home computer for the gunman in the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school massacre, prosecutors said.
Colt Gray was indicted on a total of 55 counts, including murder in the deaths of four people and 25 counts of aggravated assault. He has pleaded not guilty, but a lawyer for the teen said during a hearing in May that his client would likely be ready to plead guilty after a psychologist's report was prepared.
New lawyers have started representing the teen since then. At a brief hearing in December, the judge said a status hearing in the case would be held in mid-March.
The Associated Press and CBS News contributed to this report.
