Colin Gray Found Guilty of Murder in Apalachee School Shooting — Full Verdict Breakdown
True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews
Tony Brueski
4.2 • 612 Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2026
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A Georgia jury just made history. Colin Gray—guilty of second-degree murder on all counts. Less than two hours of deliberation. The father who armed his troubled son now faces up to 180 years in prison.
True Crime Today breaks down the Colin Gray verdict with criminal defense attorney Bob Motta.
This is only the third time in American history a parent has been held criminally responsible for a school shooting committed by their child. The Crumbleys got manslaughter in Michigan. Georgia prosecutors went bigger—and won murder convictions.
The evidence was relentless. An FBI warning Colin Gray ignored in 2023 after his son threatened to shoot up a school. A Christmas gift AR-15 kept unsecured in a 14-year-old's bedroom. A "shrine" to Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz. Texts from Colt Gray warning his father: "Whenever something happens just know the blood is on your hands."
His own daughter testified he pressured her to lie to investigators. His estranged wife said she begged him to lock up the guns and was knocked down trying to take the rifle from Colt's room. Body cam footage showed Colin saying "God, I knew it" within minutes of the shooting.
Colin Gray was his own only defense witness. He cried on the stand. He insisted he never saw it coming. The jury needed under two hours to convict on every single count.
Bob Motta analyzes the trial, the defense failures, and what this verdict means for parental accountability going forward.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Brewski and Robin Dree. |
| 0:08.1 | Let's go over to another case that just wrapped up. |
| 0:12.6 | Closing arguments have finished and now a verdict is in literally right as we're jumping on the air here today. |
| 0:20.1 | Colin Gray has been found guilty. |
| 0:23.2 | After two weeks of testimony, one defense witness, the defendant himself, and now a jury, |
| 0:28.6 | has decided that the father does bear criminal responsibility for his son's rampage at Appalachie |
| 0:35.8 | High. Bob Mata is with us to discuss. |
| 0:39.6 | Bob, I know you've been covering this over on your channel at Defense Diaries. |
| 0:43.7 | This is a big deal. |
| 0:45.8 | And I have not even seen a headline on it yet. |
| 0:49.7 | Robin just mentioned that he was found guilty to me right as we went on the air. |
| 0:53.3 | Bob, how has this played out and what does this mean for the future? |
| 0:59.5 | This case, Tony, would have been the one time, because I'm not built to be a prosecutor. |
| 1:05.7 | It's just not in my DNA. |
| 1:07.4 | This would have been the one case along with the Crumblies where I would have donned the white hat and sought to convict this guy. |
| 1:15.5 | Because to me, it changes the game. |
| 1:19.2 | I mean, obviously there's an aspect of the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms and the right to own guns. |
| 1:26.1 | But to me, it's much bigger than that. |
| 1:28.6 | To me, this case was always about neglect. |
| 1:32.2 | It was always about enabling that child who he knew or should have known |
| 1:37.4 | was going through some serious mental issues. |
| 1:42.0 | And ultimately, he ignored it. |
... |
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