Father of Apalachee High School shooter sentenced to 15 years in prison

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A judge sentenced Colin Gray to 15 years in prison Thursday, following emotional testimony from victims’ families during his sentencing hearing in Georgia’s Apalachee High School shooting case.

The sentence came after victims’ families urged Judge Nicholas Primm to impose the maximum punishment, while defense attorneys argued Gray had sought mental health treatment for his son and asked for a lesser sentence. 

Judge Primm imposed a 15-year prison sentence after ordering most of Gray’s sentences on the various convictions to be served concurrently, meaning they will overlap instead of being added together. Prosecutors sought an 80-year prison term.

“It is clear you failed as a parent,” Primm said. “You didn’t get him mental health counseling when it was obvious he needed some. None of those failures helped your case, but those aren’t why you were convicted. You were convicted because the warning lights were flashing brighter and brighter and you didn’t get him help.”

Gray entered the Barrow County courtroom shortly after 9 a.m. wearing an orange-and-white striped Barrow County Detention Center uniform. 

His hearing was held a couple of days after his son, 16-year-old Colt Gray, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to 55 charges, including murder, in the school shooting that killed two students and two teachers.

In March, a jury convicted Colin Gray on 27 charges, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children. Prosecutors argued he provided the rifle used in the shooting despite repeated warning signs about his son’s declining mental health.

Victims’ families describe lasting pain from Apalachee High School shooting

The hearing opened with emotional testimony from victims’ families.

Shayna Aspinwall, the wife of teacher and football coach Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, described the lasting impact of her husband’s death.

“To the world, Ricky was a math teacher and a football coach. To the players he coached, he was a mentor. To me, he was my best friend, my partner and the person I expected to grow old with,” she told the court.

Aspinwall said she now lives with post-traumatic stress disorder and can no longer teach because of her fear of another school shooting.

“He was a single parent by choice. I am now because of his decisions,” she said, referring to Colin Gray. “Colin couldn’t take his kid to therapy. Now I have to take mine.”

Richard Aspinwall’s stepfather, Rick Aspinwall, told Gray he was responsible for the devastation caused by the shooting.

“Through your ineptitude and lack of situational awareness, you are responsible for all that’s happened,” he said. “I hope to God that you sit and remember everything that you’re responsible for.”

Breanna Schermerhorn, the mother of 14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn, rejected describing the shooting as a tragedy.

“People keep calling us a tragedy. But tragedies are unavoidable. This was preventable,” she said.

She added that parenting “requires responsibility, sacrifice and showing up even when it’s hard.”

Mason’s older sister, Alana Schermerhorn, said her family never had the opportunity to stop what happened.

“Parents are supposed to protect their children,” she said. “Mr. Gray had opportunities to make different choices. My family didn’t have an opportunity.” 

Schermerhorn asked Judge Nicholas Primm to impose the maximum sentence.

“I ask for the maximum sentence not out of revenge, but because the consequences of these failures were irreversible,” she said.

Defense seeks 20-year sentence; prosecutors ask for 80 years

After victim impact statements concluded, defense attorneys argued Colin Gray should receive a 20-year sentence with 10 years to serve in prison, with the sentence running concurrently.

Defense attorneys said Gray has been in custody for 22 months and argued the evidence showed he had been trying to seek mental health treatment for Colt Gray. They also pointed to evidence they said reflected Colt Gray’s hostility toward his father and argued the court never heard testimony from Colt Gray himself.

During closing arguments, prosecutors said the defense was conflating the timeline and evidence presented during Colt Gray’s criminal case with the evidence introduced during Colin Gray’s trial.

Prosecutor Brad Smith told the court Colin Gray was convicted “for what he did know,” arguing the jury found he ignored a substantial and unjustifiable risk.

Smith displayed posters investigators found in Colt Gray’s bedroom, telling the judge, “This is the risk that stared him in the face.”

He also argued that after Colin Gray’s daughter texted him on the day of the shooting that three people had been killed at Apalachee High School, he never attempted to call his son. The state asked Judge Primm to sentence Colin Gray to a total of 80 years in prison.