Father of Georgia school shooter had letter from son ‘asking for forgiveness' on day of the shooting, testimony reveals
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent John Giunta testified law enforcement officers conducting a protective sweep of Colin Gray's home saw a letter from his son in which 'Colt was asking for forgiveness.'
Attorneys for the father argued during a Friday motions hearing that statements and evidence collected shortly after the shooting should not be used in trial.
The hearing in Winder, Georgia, took place just after students at Apalachee High School started their first day back at school, just a few miles away. It's been almost 11 months since the mass shooting left two students and two teachers dead, as well as nine people injured, about 50 miles outside of Atlanta.
Gray's attorneys told a judge a protective sweep when deputies arrived at the Gray home the morning of the shootings was more of a search and was done prior to a warrant being issued.
'Not only did he see the letter, he obviously read it. Because he gave that information to the GBI agent who was getting the search warrant,' defense attorney Jimmy Berry said. 'That is a search.'
The content of the accused shooter's letter was used in part to get a search warrant, Berry told Judge Nicholas Primm.
'It was an illegal search,' Berry said. 'It was not a protective sweep'
'If the magistrate used that in his decision to issue the search warrant, then the search warrant itself is bad,' Berry told the court. 'If you give information that's bad in a search warrant it invalidates it.'
State investigators testified they secured and executed a search warrant for the home on September 4, the same day as the mass shooting.
District attorney Brad Smith rebutted that the sweep was necessary to protect the law enforcement officers at the house and that Colin Gray had verbally given permission to search the home.
One of the deputies who spoke to Colin Gray at his home following the shootings testified that Gray was calm and spoke to him voluntarily.
Portions of Deputy Brandon Bazinet's body camera video were played in court.
In the video Gray says, 'If you just need OK, you all can go. You don't need a search warrant there ain't nothing there to hide. And it's clear it has something to do with my son. I just want to make sure he is not hurt.'
While speaking with an officer in the video, Colin Gray says, 'I know it's bad,' as he worried about the physical condition of his son.
The defense said the statements were not made voluntarily. They claim Colin Gray had been moved away from his home amid 'corrosive police activity.'
Portions of a second video were played in court of Gray speaking to investigators during an interview the day after the shootings.
In the video, Gray speaks with a deputy casually, talking about how his name had been handed down through his family.
Barrow County Sheriff's investigator Jason Smith testified that during the taped interview authorities were in the process of obtaining a warrant for Gray's arrest, which he said he did not know at the time.
Colin Gray has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder – alleging that he shares responsibility for the September shooting at Apalachee High School, where four people were killed.
Colin Gray is facing 29 charges in total; he has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Judge Primm said he will rule on the motions to suppress the statements made by Colin Gray and whether the search warrant was valid within the month.
Colin Gray is only the third person charged in the US in connection with a school shooting by their child.
Investigators previously testified in court that Colin Gray bought the AR-15-style rifle allegedly used in the school shooting for Colt Gray as a Christmas present last year, only seven months after the family was questioned by law enforcement over online threats 'to commit a school shooting.'
His trial had been scheduled to start this fall but was pushed back due to scheduling conflicts with his defense team. A new trial date for Colin Gray has not been set yet.
Colin's son Colt is accused of killing four people and injuring others. He was 14 at the time of the shooting has been indicted on 55 felony counts.
Authorities have said that Colt admitted to the shooting, according to court records.
Attorneys for Colt told the court earlier this year that he may change his not guilty plea and is considering a plea deal.
CNN's Ryan Young contributed to this report
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