Mom of alleged Georgia school shooter Colt Gray charged with abusing her own mother, taping her to chair: report
A Georgia woman whose teenage son allegedly killed four people at Apalachee High School has been accused of taping her elderly mother to a chair, stealing her phone and damaging her home, according to a report.
Marcee Gray was indicted Monday in Ben Hill County, Ga., for the alleged abuse of her own mom, Deborah Polhamus in November — who was bound to a chair for almost 24 hours in her Fitzgerald home, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported.
Gray, 43, was slapped with several charges including, exploitation and intimidation of a elderly person, false imprisonment, criminal damage to property in the second degree, and theft, the outlet reported.
She could face up to 20 years in jail for the top charge of felony elder exploitation.
Her son, Colt Gray, 14, has been accused of fatally shooting two students and two teachers at his school last month.
The abuse occurred Nov. 3, after Gray demanded Polhamus accompany her as she was about to angrily confront her ex, Colin Gray, authorities said.
When Polhamus refused to go, Gray taped her to a chair, stole her iPhone and damaged a bathroom mirror and the back door of the older woman’s home, authorities alleged
“Marcee became upset and told Deborah that she was making her go with her because she was going to kill her ex,” according to the incident report.
“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 was trying to confront her son’s father, with whom she had a contentious relationship.
Polhamus was finally discovered the next day by the friend of her daughter Annie Brown, who lives in Florida. Brown told police she became worried after her mother wasn’t picking up her phone and asked one of her friends to check on her.
Polhamus suffered an injured wrist and bruises from the incident, but told cops she “did not want to see Marcee being a felon for the rest of her life,” according to the incident report.
“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,” the incident report states.
In April, Gray, who has a lengthy rap sheet spanning nearly two decades, was granted a $5,700 bond in Ben Hill County in connection with the incident, AJC reported.
A former neighbor told The Post earlier this month that Gray would sometimes lock Colt and his sister out of the house at night.
Gray’s father, Charles Polhamus, disputed claims that his daughter abused Colt, who had been living with his dad at the time of the shooting.
“Marcee never did anything to Colt,” he added. “All she did is help him out.”
Colt Gray was arrested the day of the shooting and charged as an adult with four counts of murder. Colin Gray, who allegedly bought his son an AR-15 rifle for Christmas, was also hit with murder charges for allegedly supplying the weapon used in the shooting.
The father and son did not enter a plea during their Sept. 6 court appearances.
Colt had texted his mother, “I’m sorry” on the morning of the shooting, and Gray had called the school in a bid to warn them about her son 30 minutes before the gunfire began. She later insisted to the public in an apology for her son’s harrowing attack that Colt “is not a monster.”
Gray could not be reached for comment.