Photo: Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office
The mother of accused Georgia high school shooter Colt Gray, was previously arrested on accusations of taping her elderly mother to a chair, stealing her phone and damaging her home, according to an incident report obtained by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Marcee Gray, 43, was charged with exploitation and intimidation of an elderly person, false imprisonment, criminal damage to property in the second degree, and theft in relation to an incident in which she allegedly bound her mother, Deborah Polhamus, to a chair for nearly 24 hours in her Fitzgerald, Georgia, home. The felony elderly exploitation charge brings a potential 20-year sentence if convicted.
The alleged incident took place after Gray demanded Polhamus accompany her when she planned to angrily confront her ex-husband, Colin Gray, on November 3. Polhamus refused, which led to Gray taping her to a chair, stealing her iPhone and damaging a bathroom mirror and back door.
“Marcee became upset and told Deborah that she was making her go with her because she was going to kill her ex,” the incident report states.
“Deborah stated she refused to go and Marcee threw her up against the wall causing a cut on her left wrist. Marcee stated that since Deborah wasn’t going she was going to tie her to a chair and take her phone so she wouldn’t call anyone,” according to the document.
It's unclear why Marcee planned to confront Colin. Polhamus was finally discovered by the friend of her daughter, Annie Brown, who lives in Florida, the following day. Brown told police she became worried about her mother after phone calls went unanswered and asked friends to check on her.
Polhamus suffered a wrist injury and bruises, however, told police "she did not want to see Marcee being a felon for the rest of her life,” the report states.
“Deborah explained that she agreed that Marcee needed to be punished for what she [had] done, but she wanted Marcee to get help for her drug addiction,” police said.
Gray, who has a lengthy rap sheet spanning nearly two decades, was granted a $5,700 bond in relation to the incident involving her mother.
Colt Gray was charged with four counts of murder and will be tried as an adult in relation to the mass shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, which could result in a life sentence if convicted. Colin Gray was also arrested and faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children in the second degree, which could bring a sentence of 180 years in prison if convicted.
Footage obtained by the New York Post showed what appeared to be the AR-15-style-weapon used by Gray during the Apalachee shooting lying on the ground with a magazine attached and another tan magazine next to it in the school's hallway near a white sheet covering a body. Police confirmed that Gray used an AR-style weapon when he opened fire, killing two fellow students and two teachers, as well as injuring nine others, at around 10:30 a.m.
The two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angular, both 14, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, were identified publicly by Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey during a press conference.
