A judge has set a plea and sentencing hearing for Colt Gray, the 16-year-old accused of murdering four people during a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia. The hearing is scheduled to begin on July 24. Gray has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder in the September 2024 shooting that killed two students and two teachers, and left several others wounded.
The judge overseeing Gray’s case filed a ‘Non-Negotiated Plea and Sentencing Hearing’ on Friday. This indicates that the state and the defense have not come to an agreement regarding a sentence. With a non-negotiated plea, the sentencing decision rests entirely with the judge, who will determine the sentence after both sides have presented summaries of their cases and offered their respective sentencing recommendations.
Colt Gray’s trial was originally set to begin in mid-October in Columbia County. However, the judge agreed to a defense request to change the venue. Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was convicted by a jury in March on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors said he gifted his teenage son the assault-style rifle used to open fire at the school.
The Sept. 4, 2024, shooting killed teachers Richard ‘Ricky’ Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire. Investigators have said the teenager carefully plotted the shooting at the high school northeast of Atlanta with 1,900 students.
Colt Gray was charged as an adult with 55 total counts, including murder, cruelty to children, and 25 counts of aggravated assault. Investigators testified that the boy left a notebook in his classroom with step-by-step instructions and a diagram to prepare for the assault, including an estimate that he could kill as many as 26 people and wound as many as 13 others.
Family members had been seeking psychological help for Colt Gray before the shooting, but it appeared he never saw a counselor. Colt’s mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray, told investigators that she had argued with Colin Gray weeks before the shooting, asking him to secure his guns and restrict Colt’s access.
