CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The man who opened fire inside an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater three years ago learned his fate at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, July 16, 2015.
A jury has found theater shooter James Holmes guilty of first-degree murder in the July 2012 shooting deaths of 12 moviegoers at a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
James Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, faces 165 charges in the July 2012 shooting that left 12 people dead and 70 injured.
The verdict was reached in almost 12½ hours: The jury began deliberations Wednesday morning.
Thursday afternoon, survivors and friends and family of the victims began arriving in court to await the reading of the verdict.
By virtue of his insanity plea, the now 27-year-old Holmes has never denied he was behind the killings. But given his mental state, his lawyers have argued that he should not be found culpable.
“The evidence is clear that he could not control his thoughts, … he could not control his actions, and he could not control his perceptions,” defense attorney Dan King said during closing arguments.
King told the court psychosis had obscured Holmes’ ability to think about things the way a rational person does.
“Only the mental illness caused this to happen and nothing else.”
‘Hold this man accountable’
Prosecutors — who called more than 200 witnesses to the stand, among them investigators, students who knew Holmes and his ex-girlfriend — insisted the shooter knew well what he was doing. He acted deliberately to deliver pain and his mental issues shouldn’t excuse him from paying the price, they argued.
“Look at the evidence, then hold this man accountable,” Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler said. “Reject this claim that he didn’t know right from wrong when he murdered those people and tried to kill the others. …
“That guy was sane beyond a reasonable doubt, and he needs to be held accountable for what he did.”
Having bought a ticket 12 days earlier, Holmes on July 19, 2012, walked into the theater No. 9 screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” like other patrons. He then walked out through a rear door, which he left propped open.
Just after midnight, some 18 minutes after the movie began, he returned wearing a ballistic helmet, a gas mask, black gloves and protective gear for his legs, throat and groin.
A tear gas canister exploded in the theater, then gunfire erupted from an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and at least one .40 caliber handgun. The shooting stopped with Holmes’ arrest outside the theater about seven minutes after the first 911 calls were made to police.
But it wasn’t in time to save the lives of Jonathan Blunk, Alexander Boik, Jesse Childress, Gordon Cowden, Jessica Ghawi, John Thomas Larimer, Matthew McQuinn, Alex Sullivan, Alexander Teves, Rebecca Ann Wingo, Medek, and the youngest victim, Moser-Sullivan.
What’s next?
If jurors decide to convict Holmes on multiple murder charges, the next question would be what price he’ll pay.
In 2013, the prosecution signaled it would seek the death penalty.
The shooter’s parents, Robert and Arlene Holmes, were regulars in court during their son’s trial. They have not talked to reporters. But they have written two open letters and published a prayer book detailing the family’s internal struggle and pleading for their son’s life.
In a December 2014 letter published in the Denver Post, the couple said, “We have spent every moment for more than two years thinking about those who were injured, and the families and friends of the deceased who were killed, in the theater shooting in Aurora.
“We are always praying for everyone in Aurora. We wish that July 20, 2012, never happened.”
Still, while they don’t deny James Holmes was behind the carnage, the parents said they didn’t think he should have been put on trial, much less be convicted and possibly face the death penalty, given his mental state.
“(James Holmes) is not a monster. He is a human being gripped by a severe mental illness,” his parents wrote. “We believe that the death penalty is morally wrong, especially when the condemned is mentally ill.”
Ana Cabrera reported from Centennial, Colorado. Dana Ford and Greg Botelho reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN’s Steve Almasy and Michael Martinez also contributed to this report.
