Note: This article contains troubling details.
Marcee Gray, the mother of the suspect in the Apalachee High School shooting, is speaking out about her indictment on elder abuse charges, saying it is “inexcusable and horrifying” that she taped her then-73-year-old mother to a chair.
“What I put my mother through is inexcusable and horrifying,” Gray told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I will have to face the fallout of my actions for the rest of my life.”
Deborah Polhamus, 74, spent almost 24 hours taped to a chair in her Fitzgerald home, an incident report shows. She was found Nov. 4, 2023 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, who lives in Fitzgerald, to check on her.
Credit: Supplied
Credit: Supplied
Gray, 43, was indicted Monday on single counts of exploitation and intimidation of a disabled adult or elderly person, false imprisonment, criminal damage to property in the second degree, and theft. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in jail on the most serious charge of felony elder exploitation.
Credit: File Photo
Credit: File Photo
Gray said the incident was “a culmination of tragic family issues that had been building for a long time.” She said her estranged husband, Colin Gray, had taken physical custody of her two youngest children, now aged 8 and 13, a month prior, due to her failing a drug test for the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.
Marcee Gray said Colin Gray blocked all contact she and her mother had with the children, including DFCS-ordered visitation.
“On Nov. 3, while experiencing methamphetamine-induced psychosis and under the false belief that my children were in grave danger, I asked my mother to get in the car with me and accompany me to Winder, where my husband lived,” Marcee Gray said. “When she refused, I secured her to a padded chair so that she would not call the police before I could make it to my husband’s house to try and see my children. I never harmed my mother and contacted a family friend later in the day to go to her home and release her.”
Marcee Gray said she is now proud to be 11 months sober and that “the relationship between my mother and I is stronger than ever.”
Police allege that Marcee Gray taped her mother to a chair, took her mother’s iPhone and damaged a bathroom mirror and back door of her mother’s house around 5 p.m. on Nov. 3. According to an incident report, Marcee Gray had become upset after Polhamus refused to accompany her to Barrow County, where Marcee Gray intended to confront Colin Gray.
“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.”
Marcee Gray was arrested in Barrow County on Nov. 6 in relation to a separate incident, in which she was suspected of possessing methamphetamine, fentanyl and muscle relaxants, and of concealing the identity of her Nissan Rogue. She was also accused of damaging Colin Gray’s work vehicle.
In December, Marcee Gray was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, single counts of using a license plate to conceal identity, criminal damage to property in the second degree and criminal trespass/family violence in Barrow County. She was sentenced to five years in jail, with the first 46 days to be spent in confinement and the remainder on probation. She received credit for the time she had spent in custody from Nov. 6.
Marcee Gray was returned to the custody of Ben Hill County police in December, after her sentencing in Barrow County, to face charges related to her mother’s alleged ordeal. She was granted a $5,700 bond in Ben Hill County in April.
Polhamus was left with an injured wrist and bruises on both arms and legs, according to police. The incident report states that Polhamus told police she “did not want to see Marcee being a felon for the rest of her life.”
“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.
Marcee Gray has a criminal record spanning more than 17 years and four counties, court records show. Her children were living with their father at the time of the Sept. 4 high school shooting in which two students and two teachers were killed and nine others were injured.
Her son Colt Gray, 14, was arrested that day and charged with four counts of murder. Colin Gray, 54, was arrested the day after the shooting and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.
Colt Gray and Colin Gray both had their first court appearances Sept. 6. Neither sought bail.
In a statement released to the AJC and other news outlets, Marcee Gray apologized to those affected by the shooting. She said her son is “not a monster.”
Brown has spoken publicly to national press outlets about Colt Gray, referring to herself as his aunt. She said Marcee Gray called the school about 30 minutes before the shooting with concerns about her son. Brown called authorities about 90 minutes after the shooting, saying she was worried the shooter was her nephew, she said.
About the Author
