William Phillip Mosley II has been found not guilty on the charge of felony murder, in connection with the September 2011 shooting death of John Gray.

Mosley was found not guilty in a bench trial conducted this week in the courtroom of Chief Superior Court Judge A. Wallace Cato. The trial began Wednesday; closing arguments were held Friday morning and Cato’s verdict was announced around noon, Public Defender Ernie Sheffield said.

On Sept. 11, 2011, Gray was found dead outside a farm shed at 429 N. Griffin Ave. in Attapulgus, where he and his brother, Bert Gray, ran a 316-acre hunting preserve.

Defense attorney Jami Lewis acknowledged that Gray and Mosley had been “grilling and drinking” on the property on Saturday night, but Mosley had stated that Gray had dropped him off at the preserve’s front gate at around 10:30 p.m.

According to the defense, Mosley then walked to his home before riding to Bainbridge with a friend and returning to his home on Smith-Miller Road at about 4 a.m. Sunday.

Although Sheriff’s deputies found Mosley’s shotgun on a trail on the hunting preserve, it was not uncommon for Mosley to practice target shooting around the preserve and there were no fingerprints or blood on the weapon, Lewis said Friday.

“It appears that the judge just didn’t think there was enough evidence to link Mosley to Gray’s death,” Lewis said. “There were other possible suspects that were not thoroughly investigated.”