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Bill Robles / Reuters
A picture of shooting suspect James Holmes is shown in courtroom sketch from a preliminary hearing in Centennial, Colo., on Wednesday.
The preliminary hearing in the Aurora massacre case closed Wednesday with an indelible image: suspect James Holmes smiling into the camera while gripping a semiautomatic handgun, just six hours before the rampage.
The photo recovered from Holmes’ cellphone was one of dozen pictures prosecutors offered as evidence before they told a judge that the former grad student “didn't care who he killed.”
The defense presented no witnesses at the hearing, and the judge will rule on Friday whether there is enough evidence to put Holmes on trial for the July 20 mass murder at a suburban Colorado multiplex.
The prosecution’s last witness was an Aurora police detective who cataloged the photos, meant to show that Holmes painstakingly planned the ambush that killed 12 and wounded 58 during a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.’
There were four photos of the inside and outside of the Century 16 theater, two taken as early as June 29. More arresting was a series of creepy self-portraits taken the evening of July 19 – Holmes’ hair dyed a shocking red and his eyes darkened by black contacts.
The preliminary hearing for James Holmes, who is accused of killed 12 in the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre, ended Wednesday when Holmes' defense attorney chose to call no witnesses to testify about Holmes' mental state. The judge will issue a ruling by Friday as to whether or not a trial will begin, and there is already speculation that the case may end with a plea agreement. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.
In one, he stuck out his tongue. In another, he held an explosive device and puckered his lips. A third showed him smiling, holding a semiautomatic pistol in front of the lens.
Other pictures showed what prosecutors say were the tools his destruction: an assault rifle with a scope, a pump-action shotgun, a gas mask, helmet and body armor, all laid out on his bed. A few photos showcased the booby-traps that he allegedly set to explode in his home after the shooting.
Prosecutors said the photos, along with testimony from a parade of law-enforcement officers, left no doubt that Holmes was the gunman or that he was hell-bent on maximum carnage in the “perfect venue.”
“He didn't care who he killed or how many he killed, because he wanted to kill all of them," prosecutor Karen Pearson said
Holmes’ lawyer, Daniel King, had the go-ahead to call two witnesses who would testify about his client’s mental state. But he decided not to put anyone on the stand, saying the hearing was not the right forum for a “truncated” defense.
Scott Robinson, a Denver lawyer who is not involved in the case but has attended the proceedings, said it would be unusual for the defense to call witnesses during the preliminary hearing and show its hand to the other side.
The defense doesn't call witnesses in the preliminary hearing of the accused Aurora theater gunman. NBC's Leanne Gregg reports.
“They did the right thing,” Robinson said.
Holmes, who is expected to mount an insanity defense, will return to court Friday. If the judge decides the case is going to trial, he will be arraigned on more than 160 counts of murder, attempted murder and weapons possession.
Bill Robles / Reuters
A picture of Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes, recovered from his cellphone, is shown in courtroom sketch from Thursday's preliminary hearing.
Legal experts said it would be stunning if the judge did not find there was probable cause for the case to proceed.
“In 31 years, I can think of one case where a court did not find probable cause,” former Denver prosecutor Karen Steinhauser said.
She said that if Holmes pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, the judge will order mental health evaluations and a trial date will not be set right away.
It’s possible that the defense and prosecution could strike a plea deal, in which case this week’s hearing will have been the closest thing to a trial. Much of the evidence is still under wraps because of a court-imposed gag order.
The three-day hearing focused on accounts from officers who arrested Holmes outside the theater and tried to save the victims inside. The testimony was at times graphic and heart-breaking, leaving witnesses and spectators – many of them relatives of the killed and injured – in tears.
Throughout, Holmes was impassive, sitting nearly motionless in a jail-issue jumpsuit, the dyed crimson mop he sported in the pre-slaughter photos replaced by messy brown hair and a beard.
NBC News’ Kevin Watters, Denver’s KUSA and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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How could someone who is obviously completely bat-s**t crazy slip under everyone's radar?
Nobody wanted to hurt his feelings or violate his privacy by reporting him because what if they were wrong about him?!? Well, we found out what happened when they were on the other side of being wrong.
Hindsight is always 20/20. You can't lock someone up for a crime they haven't committed yet. The best anyone could have done was send him to Denver General on a 72-hour watch. (or maybe think twice before selling him an assault weapon but apparently any amount of caution when it comes to guns is akin to the Holocaust)
Had he been sent to Denver General for a 72 hour watch then maybe...juuuuust maybe he would have been reported to the proper authorities to be flagged in the background check database and he wouldn't have passed the check in order buy that assault weapon. "Let's set up a system to keep mentally ill people from purchasing guns but then let's not report them to the system because what if we're wrong?" 20/20 Hindsight is a little different when it's "he did seem kind of weird now that you mention it" compared to "he's certifiable with medical records that are inches thick to back it up".
just hang him... in the town square... nice and slow... make him walk up those stairs... stand there for a few minutes and put the hood on slowly....then just let him swing....he killed a little child and members of families trying to enjoy a night out at the movies..rage put him in that theater shotting at people...insane or sane... he wanted to quell his rage by hurting others...
Ok, he has already tried to kill himself. Drop a loaded gun into his cell, walk away and let him do his deed. I'm tired of the tax payers having to pay for these disgusting individuals. And of course he is CRAZY!!!! So what. You can't rehabilitate someone like this. I don't even know why there is a trial. And anyone who says he deserves a fair trial is lost. He did it and there is no reason to waste the tax payer's money. Heck, criminals get better living arrangements than lots of poeple in our own country. Just plain messed up if you ask me!!!!!
The horror that f**kin creature has caused...man,I hope he gets pummeled to the edge of death in prison.A little prison justice is what he needs.
He would likely spend the rest of his life in protective custody, at taxpayer expense of course.
How about THIS for gun control? It is no secret that [you] own a firearm-
From now on, if you want to purchase a gun [even though you don't have a criminal history, or formal record of mental illness] you must have 2 (two) witnesses that can attest to [your] mental stability for at LEAST 10 years, and at LEAST 1 (one) of [them] must be a registered firearm owner. Sound good?
That emends the current suggestion that your background check mustn't have any violent crimes or any stays at a metal hospital.... and that's it?
My idea makes me feel like I have my neighbors taking stake in responsible gun ownership.
Yes, I can be contacted.
Where are you going to find 2 people to attest for ten years. Do they not have a life? Will they get bathroom breaks?
Not only did this fall on deaf ears; no one's listening. I have two. Say something worthwhile! Something........ Life changing.
Guess the only real interaction I'm going to get is on LIVE LEAK. Why don't yall come on down!!
Same username, as well.
This dude should get the same treatment he gave all his innocent victims.....DEATH!!!
I don't care if this guy is mentally ill. I know many mentally ill people who don't have a sick desire to kill people. In my opinion, people who do this should go to prison whether they are mentally ill or not. Anyone who could even fathom this doesn't deserve any mercy.
People don't go to jail for having desires. They go to jail for committing crimes. We don't have thought crime in this country.
I think he's an attention craving piece of sh!t
Dude, I am ino that whole brevity thing, I think he may also be a nihilist.
Is this guy insane? Sure he is. He lives in another world, an alternative universe. Does this mean the state should pay for him for the rest of his life? Food, medical care, psychiatric care, books, music...whatever? No. He is guilty of a terrible crime against many, many people and he does not deserve to live. I doubt he can be rehabilitated and under no circumstances that I can imagine, should he ever be turned loose.
Tell you what: Let those who survived and those who lost loved ones decide.
And for gun crazies: someone should have been able to spot something wrong when this guy was buying his guns and ammo and body armor. The flags should have popped up all over the place. He should not have been able to buy all these things. No gun owner needs what he was buying. No hunter should need more than a five cartridge clip...no one who wishes to protect themselves and their families needs to buy what this guy bought. Of course you can own hunting rifles and shotguns...but you don't need five or six of each. Of course you should be able to buy a hand gun to protect your home and family. But nobody should be allowed to buy what this guy bought. It has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. No one wants to take away your basic rights. But those rights do not include great big ammo clips and semi-automatic weapons. That's not what our Founding Fathers had in mind...and you know it.
So only revolvers should be allowed then? Any other modern pistol is semi-automatic.
I wish for one stinking time that anti-gun people would learn their terms before they throw them around. It's very irksome to read the same ignorance over and over again.
As far as multiple hunting rifles, a hunting rifle is not one size fits all. It depends on what you are hunting. So if you hunt multiple types of game of course you need different rifles.
Do you have any other moronic thoughts you would like to add?
You'd think with all the worn out arguments that have been put forth by both sides for as long as the argument has existed that by now we at least would have established that the 2nd amendment has absolutely nothing to do with hunting. Saying "a hunter doesn't need x, y or z" may be true but that statement has no validity when discussing the 2nd amendment. I'm sure the Founding Fathers couldn't have predicted the type of weapons we have to today...but it was also pretty clear that they were coming from the view being able to raise a militia to resist threats to freedom. Now you can definitely argue whether or not the present day warrants such a need with the military we have in place but drop the hunting angle.
As far as high capacity mags go....1 30-rnd mag = 2 15-rnd mags = 3 10=rnd mags. Now I know the argument is "Well, the higher the capacity the fewer amount of times they have to reload". That's correct. The thought process being "the shooter delaying to reload opens up an opportunity for escape or action". However, reloading a spent magazine with a preloaded magazine takes a very little amount of time. We're talking 5 seconds or less. The higher the magazine capacity, the more likely it is to jam especially at a fast rate of fire. VT was carried out with many pre-loaded magazines that were 10 rounds. So a high-capacity mag ban would make little to no difference. You're trading one "might have" for another (likelihood of a delay due to a jam vs. likelihood of a delay due to reloading). A ton of these shootings are planned well in advance so it's not like a guy grabs a high-capacity mag on a whim and limits his victims to the number dictated by the mag. If they can't get a 30 or 15 round mag and are planning something big they will just buy more 10 round mags.
We're supposed to be intelligent and civilized. So why when there are oodles of statistics showing one thing do we insist on "solutions" that aren't backed up by the facts? It's "freakonomics". We assume something and it seems like logical common sense when you're progressing from A to B to C...until you look at the actual numbers and the way things really are.
Interesting that the people who want Holmes executed without due process are the same people who think showing any discretion in selling firearms directly violates the second amendment. So, what you're basically saying is: I may not like mass murder, but I'll defend to the death your right to obtain the weapons that make it possible.
Judge to determine if there is enough evidence....
REALLY?????????????????
Look up "preliminary hearing" This is common practice and it is afforded to any suspect.
Where did he get the funds to do all of this? The guns....equipment....transportation....chemicals...
I don't remember anyone saying he worked anywhere. WHERE DID HE GET THE MONEY TO MURDER?
$26,000 grant for school and I'm guessing he sold drugs just like every other college student in Aurora. (sorry... local joke)
After his fair and speedy trial he should get what Timothy McVeigh got...a fair and speedy execution.
Of course he wont, he will get to plead insanity and the bleeding hearts will try to "rehabilitate" him.
There is a reason the Israelites were commanded to stone people for certain offenses outside the camp. Some people can't be cured.
Why is criminals can kill people but we the people cannot kill them.
I am sure the liberal bleeding hearts a lining up to support the monster and in the end it will be us the taxpayer footing the bill as usual to take care of this guy for the rest of his life.
Footing the bill? Wow, that sounds like a lot of money. How much of your personal taxes go to feeding and housing James Holmes?
I wonder if he'll be smiling when he gets his lethal injection.
Regardless of what comes of this I think Holmes should be swiftly and unmercifully executed. However. if Holmes would have been yelling "Allahu Akbar" during his rampage, the media would be asking "what did America do to this person to drive him do do his evil deed?" There would be no blame for the tools used to kill and wound all of those people. The only blame would be America.
You live in a fantasy world if you think racism works in favor of brown people.
Miss Scarlet, you and I interpret Rodney's post quite differently. I thjink Rodney was insinuating that political correctness comes into effect when similar crimes are committed by people of different ethnic groups. You could compare the similarities and differences of Holmes and MAJ Hassan.
soaz, you obviously do get it. Miss Scarlet looks at the world through her rose colored glasses.
Screw due process and screw this guys rights.Our justice system is full of sadistic scumbags who seem to delight in raking victims families over the emotional coals every chance they get by prolonging the trial of someone we all know is guilty.If the authorities don't have the stones to do what is right there are plenty of people who would not have any qualms about putting this creature down for the good of all concerned.Spare the families and bury this guy deep in an unmarked grave.
Thankfully we have the Constitution to protect us from crazies like you.
Executive action is forthcoming . . . thank God. As we all know these spineless fear-laden right wing politicians and their puppet string wielding gun nuts and murder defenders would defend gun murder until they themselves were murdered. I will smile the day our President shows the strength to take Executive action. Doing nothing is a choice America and it's children can no longer afford to make.
Over 10,000 people die every year due to DUI related deaths, including a lot of children. If it is about saving just one life, why are you not advocating a ban on alcohol?
Dustbuster, what executive action do you want the president to take?
soazDan
There is talk that Hussein with invoke Executive Orders for gun control. He better make damned sure he knows what he is doing, otherwise anything he signs that goes against the Constitution sets up grounds for impeachment.
He can play crazy boy in court, but he knew what he was doing.
Unfortunately there is no single way to solve our country's illegal gun use. I'm neither pro- nor anti-gun. I have no inclination to own one, but I don't care if my neighbor does. How do we field gun permit applicants? Do we implement lengthy psych evals for each and every one? Stricter gun laws will not deter gangs and other degenerates as they will always find a way to get them illegally. No "one size fits all" here.
This guy is getting his due process in court before he's locked up and the media moves on. He will never be free to hurt anyone again. I am so sorry for the victims and their families. Such senseless loss.
ANOTHER facebooker living out his fantasies then dying....... poor slob.
This man is not mentally challenged, he planned his actions over a period of time, obtained what he needed and set his plan into motion. His attorneys are the one's having him play the role of a nutcase. Sympathy, etc. Find him guilty of first degree murder/s and execute him within five days of the judgement. Set a example for others that would want or try to copy him.
You are neither competent nor in possession of enough information to make that assessment. Only a doctor who has examined a patient can determine that.
The death penalty has never been a deterrent.
Let's say I am a christian with suicidal thoughts: I could kill myself, which keeps me out of "heaven", or I could go and shoot up a theatre full of people, be convicted, ask god for forgiveness, and be executed, "knowing" I'll go to heaven. Sounds like the latter is the way to go. According to some people's beliefs, James Holmes could go to heaven if he confesses his sins and accepts Hey Zeus as his persional savior.
He can play crazy boy in court, but he knew what he was doing. Can't we use the word "bad" anymore? Does everybody have to be "crazy"? Though I must say, I just got back from a long ride on pubic transportation in the city. The experience made me wonder if we ARE turning into a nation of lunatics. More and more people talking to themselves, ranting etc. Has everyone gone off their meds?? I was in Europe (France and Italy) recently and I didn't see these behaviors at all on the buses and trains. Why is that?
Yet another perfect case for the death penalty, I hope they fry his ass on the electric chair I hear its a nice painful way to die. Insanity defense? BULLSH*T. Try telling all the families of the 12 people that died "insanity defense", or tell that to the 50 something others that got gun shot wounds. If we keep letting people get off on the old insanity defense, then crazy people will see that as a way they can get away with murdering others. If we execute there murdering a$$es, then guess what? There will be less crazy people thinking they can murder and get away with it. Crazy or not deep down inside EVERYONE knows killing is wrong, no matter how deluded some insane POS is.
Don't confuse all killings with murder. Killing is sometimes justified and neccessary.
The definition of “wrong” actually fits better than “insane” for Holmes. Holmes lacks emotion or fear which does not mean he is automatically insane. It seems to me that he knew exactly how to navigate through the system to carry out his plan. What he did at the time of the murders was deranged, crazy, nuts, and that’s more fitting of insanity. It seems that the definition of “wrong,” like this one found in Merriam-Webster, “an injurious, unfair, or unjust act: action or conduct inflicting harm without due provocation or just cause,” fits Holmes better than insane in the grand scope of things.