Apalachee school shooter Colt Gray was heard chatting and laughing with his mother about his online ‘fandom’ in twisted jailhouse phone calls.
Gray, now 16, pleaded guilty to gunning down teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53; and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, in a shooting he perpetrated on September 4, 2024.
Gray appeared in court on Tuesday in front of Barrow County Judge Nicholas Primm and received his fate of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Earlier in the day, prosecutors played recordings of phone conversations Gray had with his mother, Marcee Gray, from a youth detention center in the months after the shooting.
During one call on October 14, 2024, he directed his mother to search what people were saying about him online.
‘Heck yes, because then I can show you all the pictures,’ Marcee said. ‘Oh my God, I’ve got so many new pictures that I’ve got to show you.’
He was excited when she described ‘fan art’ drawings depicting him or comments people made about him and the attention he was getting online.
Colt then rejects his mother’s offer to bring him some physical copies of the photos and drawings when she visits him, but Marcee says she’s making her own.
Gray pleaded guilty last week and sat in court for three days during his sentencing hearings. He’s pictured above on Monday
Twisted school shooter Colt Gray and his mother Marcee Gray (above) were heard laughing as the teen killer asked her from jail about his online fandom
Gray was convicted of the deaths of (from left) Christian Angulo, Mason Schermerhorn, Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall
‘I’m going to print some out just for myself,’ she says, adding that a photo of Gray altered to look like a fox is now her phone lock screen.
Colt then asks: ‘Have you made a shrine yet of me? Have you made the shrine?’
She laughs again before saying she hasn’t but that she’s been printing out photos of him but her printer isn’t working but that she will eventually ‘make my Colty shrine.’
After the calls were made, Marcee Gray was barred from speaking with her son by a no-contact order.
In September 2024, she wrote a groveling letter apologizing to the victim’s families saying her son ‘is not a monster.’
In the letter, Gray – who said she warned the school of an ‘extreme emergency‘ before her son opened fire – told families that ‘love is the only thing that will get us through this tragedy’ and asked them to ‘pray’ for Colt and their family.
‘To the parents and families of those affected by the tragic events at Apalachee High School, I want to say that I am so sorry from the bottom of my heart,’ Gray wrote.
‘If I could take the place of Mason and Christian, I would without a second thought. As a parent, I’ve always said that the loss of one of my children would be the only thing that I wouldn’t be able to come back from. I feel all of your pain and devastation.
Colt Gray killed four at his Georgia high school in September 2024. He’s seen here in a mugshot
Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in March for purchasing the firearm and keeping it unsecured
‘I grieve and cry with you. My heart breaks for the two teachers who gave their lives while in the service of teaching and protecting our children.’
Investigators testified during the three-day sentencing hearing that Gray idolized mass shooters, talking about them online with other members of the ‘true crime community,’ a group of young people online who are fascinated with such attacks. Gray had chatted online about gaining notoriety through a school shooting.
Gray had the ‘mental wherewithal’ to mimic details of other mass killings on the day of the shooting, Smith said. He placed those ‘Easter eggs,’ anticipating that they would be mentioned in court one day and would perpetuate his fame, the prosecutor said.
‘The shooting was not the culmination of the plan. The shooting was just one of the steps of the plan. The plan was ultimate and lifelong fame inside of the TCC,’ Smith said, referencing the ‘true crime community.’
Investigators echoed a similar sentiment in court. Ashley Gilleland, an investigator with the district attorney’s office, testified that Gray idolized mass shooters and chatted with people online about his admiration of them.
Prosecutors read aloud some of the messages he posted on the platform, Discord, including, ‘I want people to remember the pain I caused and research me for hours.’
In another message, he referred to Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz, writing, ‘My love for Nik has formed into something in which I can find no other resort that can prove my love and affection towards him.’
Marcee Gray testified at a hearing in February that she was aware that her son had an interest in Cruz. Prosecutors had described a ‘shrine’ to Cruz that he kept on a wall next to his computer.
Forensic psychologist Dr Kevin Richards also testified in court that Cruz had fascinations with Adam Lanza, who killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, as well as James Holmes, who killed a dozen people in a Colorado movie theater.
Another teacher and eight more students at Apalachee were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire.
The case also marked a precedent of convicting parents for their roles in the crimes of their children.
Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in March for purchasing the firearm and keeping it unsecured.
Marcee, 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.
Instead, over time, he bought the boy ammunition, a gun sight and other shooting accessories, records show.
Gray’s attorneys argued that he suffered from a series of mental health issues and was a victim of abuse and neglect.
Candice Broce, a director of the state Division of Family & Children Services, testified on Tuesday that Gray showed improvement during treatment after his mother was barred from speaking with him.
Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm sentenced Gray to life in prison on Tuesday. He’s pictured above during a hearing last December
A judge said he believed Gray’s crimes reflected ‘permanent incorrigibility.’ He was whisked away by police to spend his life behind bars
The court also heard multiple victim statements of those who were injured in the shooting.
Natalie Griffith recalled during an emotional statement how the attack left her unable to use her left hand.
‘I got shot twice, once in my wrist and once in my upper arm,’ Griffith said. ‘I lost the ability to use my left hand, but on some days it doesn’t feel like that is the biggest thing I lost.
‘After the shooting I lost my independence, I could not put on my own clothes or do my own hair, things that were easy for me became a challenge.’
The court also heard from Gray’s classmate, Nautica Walton, who told him: ‘I hate everything about you.’
‘I hate the scars you left on my body. I hate that you took innocent lives in front of innocent people. Most of all, I hate that I let you live in my mind,’ she said.
Judge Primm said Gray’s crimes reflected ‘permanent incorrigibility,’ adding, ‘I will sentence you to life without parole for each of the malice murders you committed.’
