Georgia school shooter handed victims’ families ‘life sentence of trauma’, court hears

Colt Gray attends court for a status hearing at the Barrow county courthouse on 9 December 2025 in Winder, Georgia. Photograph: Getty Images View image in fullscreen Colt Gray attends court for a status hearing at the Barrow county courthouse on 9 December 2025 in Winder, Georgia. Photograph: Getty Images Georgia school shooter handed victims’ families ‘life sentence of trauma’, court hears Colt Gray, who was 14 at time of attack on Apalachee high school, admits 55 charges including four counts of murder The wife of a teacher killed in a high school shooting in Georgia two years ago told a court on Friday that the families of the four victims had been handed “a life sentence of grief and trauma” by the teenage student who murdered them. Shayna Aspinwall, whose husband Richard died at Apalachee high school, about 45 miles north-east Atlanta, on 4 September 2024, was speaking at the sentencing hearing for Colt Gray, 16, who earlier pleaded to 55 charges, including second-degree murder. Gray admitted during a state court hearing in Barrow county superior court in Winder, Georgia, that he carried out the attack , his “non-negotiated” plea deal with prosecutors negating to need for a trial scheduled for October. The agreement meant no sentence was agreed, and instead superior court judge Nicholas Primm heard a summary of the case and evidence from the defense and prosecution before determining the punishment for Gray’s conviction on 55 counts, including second-degree murder. Teachers Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, were killed in the shooting, as well as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight other students were wounded, seven of them by gunshots. Shayna Aspinwall told the court that the lives of their daughters, who were two and five when their father died, will be “forever marked by his absence”. “It is a life sentence of grief and trauma for those left behind,” she said. Father of Georgia school shooting suspect found guilty of murder and manslaughter Read more Breanna Schermerhorn, whose son Mason was killed, said she did not forgive Colt Gray. While adults around him missed warning signs, she said, he decided to bring the gun and to pull the trigger. “Those decisions were his and his alone,” she said. “Mason deserved a future and we all deserved a future with Mason in it, and Colt took that from Mason and everyone who loved him.” Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was convicted in March on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, and is scheduled to be sentenced next week. Prosecutors said he gave his son the assault-style rifle that was used in the school attack. Colt Gray was led into court for Friday’s hearing with his feet chained together, watched by several relatives of victims in the public gallery. The judge questioned Gray to ensure he understood the consequences of his plea and was entering it voluntarily. Gray responded, “Yes, your honor,” each time. Murder carri