Colin Gray trial: Chilling 'shrine' to Parkland shooter found in home

Mother calls Coleman Street shooting ‘cold-blooded’

A Douglas County mother is pleading for the public's help to find the person who killed her 21-year-old son, Trevales "Tre" JaQuay Tolbert Jr., who was gunned down inside a home located in the 900 block of Coleman Street SW in Atlanta.

BARROW COUNTY, Ga. - Prosecutors introduced several pieces of chilling evidence during Friday's testimony in the trial of Collin Gray.

Gray is the father charged in connection with the 2024 mass shooting at Apalachee High School. 

Testimony is set to resume Monday morning.

Colin Gray trial

What we know:

Gray faces 29 felony counts, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, after his son allegedly opened fire inside the school, killing four people and injuring nine others.

Prosecutors allege Gray purchased the murder weapon—a SIG Sauer M400 rifle—as a Christmas gift in 2023, despite his son Colt's troubled history. That history reportedly included drawing Nazi symbols and searching online for phrases like "How to kill your dad?" The state argues Gray is criminally responsible because he provided his son access to the rifle despite knowing of severe "behavioral red flags" and a potential for violence.

Gray's defense attorneys maintain he could not have foreseen the tragedy and that the legal responsibility lies solely with the shooter.

Search of Gray home

What they're saying:

The morning began with testimony from GBI Special Agent Heather Lashley, who was tasked with processing the Gray residence on the day of the shooting. Lashley’s testimony provided the jury with a first-hand look at the household through crime scene photographs.

Among the evidence discovered in the home were:

• Tactical gear and weapons: Investigators found tactical-style vests, multiple rifles, and boxes of ammunition.
• Unopened safety equipment: Photographs showed gun locks in the home that appeared to be unopened and unused.
• A "Shrine" to Violence: Lashley testified to finding a wall in Colt Gray's bedroom dedicated to Nikolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting.

Lashley noted the presence of multiple calibers of ammunition and a shotgun, though she could not confirm if the specific rifle found atop a closet matched the calibers used at the high school.

Colt Gray's grandmother testifies

What they're saying:

Following a brief recess, the prosecution called Deborah Polhamus, Colt Gray’s grandmother, to testify. Polhamus had previously been identified in court documents as someone who had raised concerns about her grandson’s mental health and homicidal thoughts in the weeks leading up to the shooting.

Her testimony highlighted the family’s dynamics prior to the shooting as well as the addiction struggles of Marcee Gray, who is Colt Gray’s mother and her daughter.

Polhamus testified that she tried to visit the Gray home at least once per month. She said Colt had told her that his father had gifted him a gun for Christmas.

"I never really looked for it," Polhamus said about the weapon. "Sometimes, the couple of times I did see it, it was in Colt's room in the corner, propped up in the corner."

Prosecutors then introduced text messages between Polhamus and her grandson in the days leading up to the Apalachee High School shooting.

"Make sure Mama leaves my Zoloft," Colt Gray wrote to Polhamus. "If you don’t leave it, things will turn really bad, really quickly."

In another message, Colt Gray told his grandmother he is likely suffering from acute mania.

"I know. I really do need something for it," he said in a text message. "I haven’t gotten to a point where I’ve felt an instantaneous urge to hurt anyone, but I do have periods where it’s heightened. These can last days to weeks for me."

Colt Gray trial

What's next:

Court is expected to resume on Monday with testimony from Marcee Gray.

After the jury was dismissed for the day, prosecutors told the judge they expect to rest their case next week.

Colt Gray, 16, is being tried separately as an adult and faces 55 counts, including malice murder. He is currently undergoing a mental health evaluation before his trial date is finalized.