On Monday in a court in Centennial, Colorado, James Egan Holmes, alleged shooter who opened fire at a midnight screening of Dark Knight Rises in an Aurora movie house killing 12 and injuring 59, was charged with first degree-murder on 24 counts and 116 counts of attempted murder.
Holmes is yet to make a plea, he remained silent and maintained a similar appearance to his first day at court last Monday, where he appeared apparently dazed and absent minded. Holmes' lawyer is expected to either make a plea for insanity or mental incompetence, or so it seems given the 24-year-old's claims of amnesia last week.
On the other hand, prosecutors have mentioned the possibility of pushing for the death penalty. Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers told News Day that she is considering pursuing the death penalty, but only after consulting with the victims and their families.
According to the orders of District Chief Judge William Sylvester, no cameras or videos were allowed in the court this time. Holmes will probably make his plea in the coming days, but the case might take as long as a year.
Last Wednesday, police recovered a journal that the Ph.D. drop sent the university physiatrist cautioning on the upcoming fatal event he planned. Unfortunately, the journal remained in an unchecked mail-box and was discovered only until it was too late.
In addition to the shootings, police found his apartment to be inundated with ammunitions, booby trapped with explosives and trip wires. After a week's effort by the Colorado police, bomb squad and fire department, the apartment was finally dismantled and the residents, who were evacuated were allowed to return home last week.
Holmes, 24, was Ph.D. student in neuroscience at the University of Colorado before he dropped out. And although, there are no developments as to the motives of the shootings, police said that Holmes had purchased the assault rifles with which he carried on the killing the day he failed an exam hinting to an "underlying mental illness that was triggered by the stress of failure," according to reports by ABC News. He is currently being kept in solitary confinement at an Arapahoe County detention facility.
