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

The families of four victims killed in a Georgia high school shooting two years ago have been handed "a life sentence of grief and trauma" by the teenage student responsible, the wife of a murdered teacher told a court Friday.

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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 in the September 4, 2024, attack at Apalachee High School, was speaking at the sentencing hearing for Colt Gray, 16. Gray had previously pleaded guilty to 55 charges, including second-degree murder, negating the need for a trial scheduled for October.

Gray admitted to carrying out the attack as part of a "non-negotiated" plea deal. The agreement did not specify a sentence, leaving Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm to decide Gray's punishment after hearing summaries of the case and evidence from both the prosecution and defense.

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It is a life sentence of grief and trauma for those left behind.

Teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, along with students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, were killed in the shooting. Another teacher and eight students were injured, seven by gunfire. "It is a life sentence of grief and trauma for those left behind," Shayna Aspinwall told the court, describing how her daughters, aged two and five when their father died, will be "forever marked by his absence."

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Those decisions were his and his alone.

Breanna Schermerhorn, mother of victim Mason, stated she did not forgive Colt Gray, emphasizing that his decisions to bring the gun and pull the trigger were his alone. "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," she said. Gray's father, Colin Gray, was convicted in March on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, and prosecutors allege he provided his son with the assault-style rifle used in the attack. He is scheduled for sentencing next week.

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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.