MACON, Ga. — Colin Gray, father of 14-year-old Colt Gray, faces a total of 14 charges, including two counts of second degree murder.
In Friday's hearing, Barrow County Defense Attorney Brad Smith said there could be more on the way.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said its the first time in Georgia that a parent of a school shooter also faces charges.
Travis Griffin, attorney at law representing Hogue Griffin, LLP, tells 13WMAZ if Colin Gray is convicted, it will set a precedent for future cases.
"The two counts of second degree murder is often based on whether or not someone during the commission of the cruelty to children in the second degree causes the death of another," Griffin said. "It doesn't matter whether or not somebody meant to do that or anything like that."
Griffin says authorities can charge Colin Gray if he did not pull the trigger, saying that it's called transferred intent. For example, if someone helps commit a robbery that results in a homicide, the co-conspirator could be charged with murder, even if they didn't pull the trigger.
He said under the law, a person who commits a crime or negligent act is responsible for its consequences, even if they didn't intend to kill.
"That's essentially the same transferred intent situation that's happening in a second degree murder charge where they're saying, 'Well, you did commit cruelty to children and now someone's dead,'" Griffin said. "And so we transfer that intent to the death."
Griffin says prosecutors might build a case like the one that put the parents of Michigan school shooter, Jennifer and James Crumbley, behind bars.
"A big part of law is what's called foreseeability, whether or not somebody has culpability because it's foreseeable that some bad thing could have happened," he said. "So in this situation, if all these facts that are that are in the media turn out to be true, this father knew that there was this issue with his son, He knew that law enforcement and school officials were concerned about that issue enough to where the FBI is at his house talking to him about it. The FBI is asking him to take certain steps to alleviate the problem and arguably he takes steps that exacerbate the problem and may and make the situation potentially worse, put the instrumentality of the crime directly into his son's hand, even after knowing about all of these concerns-- and so it's that reckless or negligent, depending on how this thing ends up being charged officially."
He said defense might counter by focusing sole accountability on Colt Gray. He added that they'll also focus on how careful the parents were with Colt Gray's access to weapons.
"We saw it in Michigan as well; essentially the argument is that you can't hold parents accountable for the actions of somebody else, even if it is their, their child," Griffin said. "Factors for their defense that could be relevant is whether or not. Well, ok, if this weapon was bought for this child, did he have access to the weapon? Was it usually locked up? Was the receiver taken out of it? Things like that, the parents could do to try to alleviate these concerns. If say, the child had broken into a gun cabinet or had done things to get around the precautions that the parents had taken, that could be a defense for the parents and saying, look we did hear about these concerns, yes we bought him a rifle for Christmas or whatever the case may be, but he did not have access to it."
Griffin said if Colin Gray is convicted this could create ramifications in Georgia for parents setting boundaries with their kids, regarding firearms, adding he thinks the prosecuting attorneys will soon go before the Barrow County grand jury with evidence against the Grays and seek an indictment once the investigation wraps up.