Colt Gray Update: Mother suspected of Georgia school shooting charged with elder abuse

Marcee Gray, the mother of suspected Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, was charged with elder abuse on Monday after she was accused of tying her mother to a chair and leaving her there for nearly 24 hours, according to court documents obtained The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Newsweek has not seen the court documents but has emailed the Barrow County Sheriff's Office to request the report.

Colt Gray, 14, is accused of shooting two students and two teachers at the Georgia school on September 4. He has been charged with murder and will be tried as an adult.

Meanwhile, Marcee Gray's 73-year-old mother, Deborah Polhamus, was found after one of Marcee's sisters, who lives in Florida, was unable to contact her mother in November 2023 and asked a friend to check on her at home.

There, Polhamus was found tied to a chair at his wrists and ankles and was freed by a family friend.

Authorities believe the incident occurred because Marcee Gray was angry that Polhamus refused to help her confront her ex-husband, Colin Gray, who Marcee reportedly said she would “kill him,” Law & Crime reported.

The authorities' report also alleged that Marcee Gray threw her elderly mother against the wall, slashing her left wrist, before strapping her to a chair and taking her phone.

According to WSB-TV, a local news station in Atlanta, Marcee Gray allegedly told her mother that she would call her father after she left the house to have him release her.

According to Law & Crime, Marcee Gray is said to have broken a bathroom mirror, a back door and her mother's iPhone.

She was later arrested in Barrow County and charged with exploitation and intimidation of a disabled adult or elderly person, false imprisonment, second-degree criminal damage to property and theft, according to WSB-TV. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.

She was returned to Ben Hill County in December 2023, released on $5,300 bail, and released in April.

Marcee Gray is also said to have a long criminal history dating back to March 2007 and includes five vehicle-related offenses, including reckless driving, improper right turn and driving under the influence. The Independent.

Gray's ex-husband and Colt's father was also arrested after the Sept. 4 shooting. He was charged with four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child abuse. He was also accused of giving his son the rifle used in the school shooting for Christmas.

According to Law & Crime, Colt allegedly sent his parents an “I’m sorry” message on the day of the shooting, after which his mother contacted school officials to warn them.

After the shooting, Marcee Gray published a letter to the victims' families in which she said she was “sorry from the bottom of my heart.” [her] Heart.”

“We are all living a living nightmare right now and I personally will never forgive myself for what happened,” she wrote, adding that her son was “not a monster.”

Update 9/23/24, 9:44 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

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