James Holmes: Prosecution set to rest case in Colorado theatre massacre
Holmes planned, executed 2012 attack that killed 12 and knew it was wrong, DAs argue
Prosecutors in the Colorado theatre shooting trial were wrapping up their case Friday against James Holmes after eight weeks of testimony in which they sought to show that the former neuroscience student meticulously planned and carried out the 2012 massacre while knowing it was wrong.
As they have throughout their case, prosecutors also sought to drive home the emotional impact of the shootings, which killed 12 people and wounded 70.
The day began with a tearful Petra Hogan describing being shot in the face and arm at the suburban Denver movie theatre. It was likely to end with testimony from a survivor who was paralyzed and suffered a miscarriage, and whose 6-year-old daughter died in the attack.
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The five-member prosecution team has relied on Holmes' own videotaped statements to a state-appointed psychiatrist to undermine Holmes' claim that he was so mentally ill he didn't know right from wrong during the attack.
They tried to weave a powerful story by mixing dramatic recollections of victims with technical testimony. Weapons dealers and investigators described how Holmes spent thousands of dollars to amass an arsenal of guns, ammunition, body armour and enough chemicals to rig his apartment into a potentially deadly booby trap.
Classmates at the University of Colorado-Denver, a former girlfriend, and two university psychiatrists who treated him before the shooting all testified that they knew nothing of his plans to attack a midnight showing of the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises on July 20, 2012.
There was no stone left unturned, there was no "T" uncrossed, no "I" undotted.- Karen Steinhauser, trial observer
But prosecutors showed Holmes's spiral notebook, in which he made lists of weapons he planned to buy and included detailed drawings of the suburban Aurora theatre complex complete with pros and cons of attacking different auditoriums. He wrote about an "obsession to kill" he held since childhood.
"Interspersing that argument with so many victims was a reminder of the devastation that one man caused," said Karen Steinhauser, a Denver defence attorney and former prosecutor who is not involved in the case.
Holmes's defence said confusing musings about the accused killer's life make up a greater part of the notebook, which included the word "why" repeated over several pages.
Hogan choked back tears Friday as she described being shot. She blacked out and woke up in a puddle of blood, then crawled out of the theatre with friends who were also wounded, terrified they might face more gunfire. Doctors had to remove part of her skull to extract a pellet lodged in her brain.
Prosecutors also planned to call one of the most grievously injured: Ashley Moser, the woman who was paralyzed and lost her daughter, Veronica.
Moser planned to tie up a case that opened with testimony from Katie Medley, who was nine-months pregnant when her husband, Caleb, was shot in the head while seated next to her. Medley spoke about her decision to leave him behind in the theatre in order to save their baby. She later gave birth in the same hospital where Caleb was in a coma. He can no longer walk and has trouble talking.
Burden of proof
In Colorado, prosecutors have the burden of proof in trying to persuade the jury to reject Holmes's plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. They showed jurors — over strong defence objections — nearly 21 hours of Holmes's videotaped interviews with a state-appointed psychiatrist who concluded Holmes was seriously mentally ill but legally sane at the time of the shooting.
"There was no stone left unturned, there was no "T" uncrossed, no "I" undotted," Steinhauser said of the prosecution's case.
Now the four defence lawyers will begin calling their own psychiatrists and presenting other evidence to argue Holmes should be found not guilty. They plan to begin their case next Thursday.