Chase McGee

Colin Gray refuted allegations that he was a negligent or absent father, instead recounting his family's troubled history with multiple moves and workplace injuries.

He spoke of his wife's drug addiction and an episode where she threatened to kill him and their son Colt.

He described a trusting relationship with Colt, who was charged with the killings of two students and two teachers.

Prosecutors asked Gray about several instances where his son had severe anger or behavioral issues going back as far as first grade.

For NPR News, I'm Chase McGee in Winder.

Colin Gray refuted allegations that he was a negligent or absent father, instead recounting his family's troubled history with multiple moves and workplace injuries.

He spoke of his wife's drug addiction and an episode where she threatened to kill him and their son Colt.

He described a trusting relationship with Colt, who was charged with the killings of two students and two teachers.

Prosecutors asked Gray about several instances where his son had severe anger or behavioral issues going back as far as first grade.

For NPR News, I'm Chase McGee in Winder.

Prosecutors spent the morning calling witnesses, including students injured in the classroom where Colt Gray allegedly opened fire and the health care workers who treated them at a Northeast Georgia hospital.

District Attorney Brad Smith called Natalie Griffith to the stand.

Natalie was a freshman in the algebra class that Gray fired into.

She was shot in the wrist.

She suffered permanent nerve damage and lost independent function of her fingers.

The state argues that Colt's father, Colin, was criminally negligent and ignored warning signs that his son was a danger to himself and others.

For NPR News, I'm Chase McGee in Winder.

And I wondered if you could talk about the ways in which...

These books combat silence.

That's an interesting way to put it.