WINDER, Ga. (CN) — On the seventh day of Colin Gray’s trial Tuesday, his 14-year-old daughter, Jenny, took the stand to shed light on their home life before the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School on Sept. 4, 2024.
Jenny Gray told the court that she remembered there being at least three firearms in their home that were not locked up. One of the guns, an assault rifle, was gifted by her father to her older brother Colt Gray, who was allowed to keep it out in his bedroom, she said.
When asked by the prosecution if she was concerned about Colt Gray having the gun, she responded, "Yes."
Prosecutors with the Barrow County District Attorney's Office asked Jenny Gray, "When you heard there was a shooting, did you pretty much know?"
"Yes, ma'am," she answered.
Before being interviewed by investigators following her brother's detainment, Colin Gray "basically told me that I should cover for him," Jenny Gray testified.
She added that her father told her to lie to investigators about him knowing the images on Colt Gray's wall were of Nikolas Cruz, who was convicted of the deadliest school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Colin Gray's daughter described their relationship as being "alright." She now lives with a foster family and has not had any contact with either of her parents since the shooting, which she told the court was her choice.
“It's definitely more stable, more loving, more family-like," Jenny Gray said of her new home life.
"We definitely do a lot more things as a family that we never would have done when we lived with my father,” she added.
Colt Gray and their father would get into arguments frequently, with her brother sometimes ramming into Colin Gray, Jenny Gray said.
She said her father expressed to her wanting to get help for Colt Gray but that he didn't know how to take the first steps.
Prosecutors also presented evidence of Colin Gray's seemingly unemotional reaction to investigators' questions after finding out his 14-year-old son was accused of fatally shooting two students and two teachers, as well as injuring several others.
They played the audio recording of his interview with Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Kelsey Ward, in which he admits knowing his teenage son kept the firearm in his room.
The audio shows Colin Gray complying with the investigators and even laughing with them at times during the interview, as he tells them bullying and his wife's drug use were contributing to his son's anger and anxiety.
In the recording, Colin Gray told investigators that he visited Jefferson Middle School frequently because Colt Gray was being bullied for being quiet and reserved by some other kids during lunch.
He's “just not that hell-raising kind of kid," Colin Gray said of his son's reactions to the bullying.
When Colt Gray's mother lost custody of him and his two siblings after testing positive for methamphetamines, Colin Gray said his son began exhibiting anger.
"Colt and her were at odds," Colin Gray told investigators. "He was really pissed about what she was doing," he said.
Colin Gray said he was shocked about his estranged wife failing a drug test and that he cut off all contact with her until she completed a rehabilitation program.
During trial Monday, Marcee Gray testified that Colin Gray picked her up to live with him and the kids for five weeks after her release.
"I told them, 'Your mom messed up, but we’re gonna help her,'" Colin Gray told Ward.
"I'm trying to be the glue that holds this whole family together," he added.
Sitting in the courtroom, Colin Gray looked down and shook his head as he listened to investigators telling him, "You seem like a great dad," and "This is not your fault," in the audio recording.
At the end of the lengthy recorded conversation, Colin Gray can be heard starting to tear up and telling them, "I want to apologize to someone."
Prosecutors questioned why Colin Gray did not immediately alert the school or leave work when his son texted him, “I'm sorry. I love you and Jenny and Coley,” and “you are not to blame," on the morning of the shooting.
When he told his job that he needed to leave and pick up his son from school after Jenny Gray texted him about her school being on lockdown that day, Colin Gray was “not really emotional in any kind of way," George Clackum, senior project manager at Kevin Price Construction, testified.
Colin Gray faces 29 charges, including second-degree murder, manslaughter, cruelty to children and reckless conduct, with witness testimony to be continued tomorrow.
Meanwhile, his now-16-year-old son, who was detained at the scene of the crime, is being prosecuted as an adult and awaiting his own murder trial.
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