Mother of Apalachee High School shooting suspect charged with elder abuse, tying mother to chair: report

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Georgia shooting suspect and father appear in court

Fox News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl has the latest on the charges after the Apalachee High School shooting on The Faulkner Focus.

A woman whose son is charged with the shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia earlier this month has been accused of taping her elderly mother to a chair, stealing her phone and damaging her home, according to a local report.  

Marcee Gray, 43, whose son Colt Gray allegedly shot two students and two teachers dead, was indicted Monday for the alleged abuse of her then 73-year-old mother Deborah Polhamus in November, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported, citing an incident report. 

Polhamus was bound to a chair for almost 24 hours in her Fitzgerald home in Ben Hill County after she was found by a friend of her daughter, Annie Brown, who lives in Florida. Brown told police she had become concerned about her mother after she was unable to reach her by phone and had asked her friend to check in on her.

APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT COLT GRAY AND FATHER APPEAR IN COURT FOR SEPARATE HEARINGS

Marcee Anne Gray in a 2023 booking photo from the Ben Hill County Sheriff’s Office. (Ben Hill County Sheriff’s Office)

The incident took place on Nov. 3, after Marcee demanded her mother accompany her to confront her ex, Colin Gray, Colt Gray’s father.

When she refused, Marcee is accused of taping her mother to a chair, stealing her mother’s iPhone, as well as damaging a bathroom mirror and the back door of the older woman’s home.

The incident report accuses Marcee of throwing her mother against a wall, causing a cut on her left wrist. Marcee allegedly stated that since her mother wouldn’t go, she was going to tie her to a chair and take her phone so she wouldn’t call anyone.

Polhamus suffered an injured wrist and bruises but told cops she “did not want to see Marcee being a felon for the rest of her life,” per the report.

It’s unclear why Marcee was going to confront her ex.

She was arrested in December and was granted a $5,300 bond in April and and released.

Marcee has been hit with a slew of charges including, exploitation and intimidation of an elderly person, false imprisonment, criminal damage to property and theft, per the Atlanta-Journal Constitution Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

The suspected shooter was identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student. (The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office)

She has a lengthy criminal record, which includes drug use and property damage, according to police and court records.

A week after the deadly incident, she apologized to the victims’ families in an open letter. 

“To the parents and families of those affected by the tragic events at Apalachee High School, I want to say that I am so sorry from the bottom of my heart,” she wrote in the letter.  

“If I could take the place of Mason and Christian, I would without a second thought,” she wrote, later adding her “heart breaks for the 2 teachers who gave their lives while in the service of teaching and protecting our children.”

Colt Gray shot 11 people in total during the Sept. 4 shooting and two others suffered other injuries.

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He was able to bring the semiautomatic AR-15 style rifle to school on his own by hiding it in his back pack the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) confirmed.

Colt left his classroom after asking a teacher if he could go to the front office and speak to someone. The teacher allowed him to leave and take his belongings with him. 

“He then went to the restroom, where he hid from teachers and then later he allegedly took out the rifle and began shooting, leaving two students and two teachers dead.”

The victims were identified as Richard Aspinwall, 39; Cristina Irimie, 53; and Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. 

Marcee called the school counselor the morning of the shooting to warn officials about a concerning message she had received from her son, she said in an interview with ABC News.

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Colin Gray, 54, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, 14, enters the Barrow County courthouse for his first appearance, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Ga.  (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

She said the last message she had received from her son was, “I’m sorry, Mom,” and that his father had received similar texts – “I’m sorry” and “You’re not to blame for this.”

Colt has been charged with four counts of felony murder and more charges are expected.

His father, Colin, 54, is accused of “knowingly allowing” his son to possess the weapon he used in the attack, police said. He was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children. 

Authorities have said Gray’s father, Colin Gray, gave Colt access to the rifle used in the shooting. He is the first parent of a school shooting suspect to be charged in Georgia.

Fox News’ Mollie Markowitz contributed to this report. 

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.