Is he insane or diabolical?
James Holmes, charged in the deadly 2012 gun rampage at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater, went on trial Monday — with prosecutors portraying him as an intelligent but emotionally troubled aspiring scientist who secretly plotted an attack that he believed would make his life more meaningful after a string of academic and romantic failures.
Holmes, 27, a former University of Colorado graduate student, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
But in his opening statements to jurors, Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler argued that Holmes suffered from acute social anxiety but knew what he was doing when he slipped into a sold-out midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" and fired into the crowd, killing 12 and injuring 70. He also booby-trapped his nearby apartment with explosives, a failed attempt to thwart authorities.
Brauchler spent two hours walking through the months, weeks and hours leading to the attack, mapping a promising biology researcher's descent into despondency and his growing fascination with killing people.
The prosecutor also went into grisly detail of the shooting itself, describing the grievous wounds suffered my many of the victims, including a father-to-be, a 6-year-old girl, a man celebrating his 27th birthday, military service members, and a man who fell on a friend to shield her from bullets.
"On a cool July night a few years ago about 13 miles from where we sit, 400 people filed in to a box-like theater to be entertained, and one person came there to slaughter them," Brauchler told the jury in a courtroom in Centennial, Colorado.
Brauchler then played a recording of a 911 call from the theater, gunfire and screams in the background.
He continued: "The man that came there that night, covered head to toe in armor to protect him from any injury, a man who brought with him four weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, he's in the courtroom with us today."
The prosecutor pointed to Holmes, sitting a few feet away, appearing unmoved. Wearing a pressed, blue pinstriped shirt and red-rimmed glasses, his hair neat and beard trimmed, Holmes appeared starkly sober in comparison to his wild-eyed appearances immediately after the shooting, when he had red-dyed hair.
His parents sat a few rows behind him.
If Holmes is found not guilty by reason of insanity, he will be sentenced indefinitely to a state mental hospital. If he is found guilty, the jury will then decide on a sentence — death, or life in prison with out the possibility of parole.
Holmes' defense attorneys were scheduled to deliver their opening remarks later on Monday.
—With Jack Chestnutt and Jacob Rascon
First published April 27 2015, 2:31 PM
James Holmes, charged in the deadly 2012 gun rampage at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater, went on trial Monday — with prosecutors portraying him as an intelligent but emotionally troubled aspiring scientist who secretly plotted an attack that he believed would make his life more meaningful after a string of academic and romantic failures.
Holmes, 27, a former University of Colorado graduate student, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
But in his opening statements to jurors, Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler argued that Holmes suffered from acute social anxiety but knew what he was doing when he slipped into a sold-out midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" and fired into the crowd, killing 12 and injuring 70. He also booby-trapped his nearby apartment with explosives, a failed attempt to thwart authorities.
Brauchler spent two hours walking through the months, weeks and hours leading to the attack, mapping a promising biology researcher's descent into despondency and his growing fascination with killing people.
The prosecutor also went into grisly detail of the shooting itself, describing the grievous wounds suffered my many of the victims, including a father-to-be, a 6-year-old girl, a man celebrating his 27th birthday, military service members, and a man who fell on a friend to shield her from bullets.
"On a cool July night a few years ago about 13 miles from where we sit, 400 people filed in to a box-like theater to be entertained, and one person came there to slaughter them," Brauchler told the jury in a courtroom in Centennial, Colorado.
Brauchler then played a recording of a 911 call from the theater, gunfire and screams in the background.
He continued: "The man that came there that night, covered head to toe in armor to protect him from any injury, a man who brought with him four weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, he's in the courtroom with us today."
The prosecutor pointed to Holmes, sitting a few feet away, appearing unmoved. Wearing a pressed, blue pinstriped shirt and red-rimmed glasses, his hair neat and beard trimmed, Holmes appeared starkly sober in comparison to his wild-eyed appearances immediately after the shooting, when he had red-dyed hair.
His parents sat a few rows behind him.
If Holmes is found not guilty by reason of insanity, he will be sentenced indefinitely to a state mental hospital. If he is found guilty, the jury will then decide on a sentence — death, or life in prison with out the possibility of parole.
Holmes' defense attorneys were scheduled to deliver their opening remarks later on Monday.
—With Jack Chestnutt and Jacob Rascon
First published April 27 2015, 2:31 PM
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