Jury finds Gray guilty of killing parents; 45-year sentence urged

GEORGETOWN — A Scott Circuit Court jury found James Anthony Gray guilty of murder in the 2007 shooting deaths of his parents.

The jury recommended 20 years on each murder plus five years for tampering with physical evidence, for a total of 45 years in prison.

James E. Gray, 63, and Vivian Gray, 55, were found shot to death in their northern Scott County home on April 26, 2007.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Keith Eardley said the case was a vindication for the Scott County Sheriff's Office, which investigated the case.

"We're very pleased with the outcome," Eardley said. "We worked really hard on it with police. The family is very happy with the outcome and so are we."

James Anthony Gray, 43, confessed to the crime but later said he was coerced by an interrogator into a false confession. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Paul Isaacs on April 5.

The verdict was returned late Thursday night in Georgetown after a two-week trial. This was the second trial for Gray; last year a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict so the judge declared a mistrial.

Public defender Rodney Barnes said Friday he intends to appeal, first with a motion that will ask Judge Isaacs to set aside the verdict.

If that doesn't work, Barnes said he intends to appeal on the issue of the confession as well as a pretrial ruling that prohibited the defense from offering an alternative culprit.

"I think we have some very good issues for appeal," Barnes said.

This story was originally published March 1, 2013 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Jury finds Gray guilty of killing parents; 45-year sentence urged."