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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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Leave a Comment:
Let's let him watch the lethal injection slowly being pumped into his veins
tell me why you need to own an AR-15, military type assault rifle that you can put a small bayonet on, and it hold high capacity mult-rounds? OH! I see! so can go deer huntin..'Ma git ma Ar-15, we is gonna shoot lots of bullets, yep, yep!!
You freakin wakco NRA nuts, why dont you go shoot each other up!
You're quite emotional and extremist, aren't you?
An AR-15 is semi-automatic, and therefore by definition not an assault rifle. Perhapes you should educate yourself on the definition of terms before you attempt to use them.
Joe, two things:
1) Assault rifles donot have to be capableof full-auto.
2) STOPITFOOL at no point stated his intention to use an AR-15 personally.
Perhaps a little remedial english comprehension is in order.
I didn't say STOPITFOOL said he was going to use an AR-15. I said he is using an incorrect term.
Wikipedia doesn't agree with your definition:
An assault rifle is a selective fire (selectable among either fully automatic, burst-capable, or, sometimes, semi-automatic modes of operation) rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine.
If it can't go burst fire or full auto it's not an assault rifle.
I think it's funny the same posters that scream "2nd amendment" are the first ones to deny due process.
He deserves his day in court before he gets executed. Simple enough.
@soazDan...........guilty until proven innocent, the 'new' American way???
DKL, I didn't say a rigged trial. Give him his day with a fair trial and he WILL be found guilty. Do you question that it wasn't him?
Another insecure loser with his big, bad shiny gun that will make it all better.
So the media again wastes time and energy on a person like this. I truly believe that because of the media, a sick individual like this gets "his 15 minutes of fame". Gun control would never have stopped this tragedy. How have the gun control laws worked in Chicago where they are very strict?
Tell the President, your Representatives and Media to work on and report on getting people back to work. That was the number one priority on both parties agenda per the Presidential campaign yet there is no work being done or reported on there.
It doesn't matter one goddamn bit if he's insane or not, what matters is if he was competent enough to know if he was doing wrong. And he did know obviously, because he trapped his apartment to hopefully pull police away from the theater, and prior to the massacre he was asking women online if they'd visit him in prison.
Also, we need to stop making celebrities out of these sick @!$%#s. We don't need to know every goddamn detail of his life or what shoes he wears. I know humans love to slow down for car accidents, but we're encouraging this to happen again by immortalizing the guilty.
Here is the definition of gun free zone - Hey bad guys, come on in and harm as many people as possible because 911 responders will arrive in about 5-15 minutes and the law will not allow law ABIDING citizens to possess a gun on this property. Aurora, Sandy Hook, Sikh Temple, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Oregon mall are all gun free zones. Thanks gun control law, you allowed many innocent people to die.
Mr gump that is pretty accurate
except for the Oregon Mall incident you mentioned
actually from what I read there was an armed civilian there and that is why the death toll was so small (2-3) I believe
What the media is NOT reporting about that shooting was that when the killers gun jammed he was confronted by an armed civilian. The armed individual did not fire due to other people being behind the killer thus in his line of fire. The killer saw the armed man disengaged and then hid when he was able to unjam his gun he took his own life.
NO where is that being reported EXCEPT BY ONE LOCAL TV Station.
The mainstream media has complimented the "quick response of local law enforcement" for restricting the death toll.
Google it you will be amazed at the clear case of false reporting or the omission of facts
The Oregon Mall shooter was dead when law enforcement arrived.
Victor,
From what I read, the Clackamas Mall in Oregon is a gun free zone. However, Mr. Meli who has a CCW license, disregarded the gun free zone and had the ability to confront the gunman and prevent more loss of life.
Tar and feather him, bury him up to his neck in dirt and then run horses over him. Nothing humane, he is a nut job creep that deserves nothing. The judicial system will take forever to decide what to do with him. Good story for the news, papers, rags, tabloids...very bad for the victims, victim's families, hell, they shoot horses don't they!? Hang him high! Do it now and let us all get on with our lives! He will never be anything but what he is. So deranged, so sick, not worth one ounce of rehabilitation, it wouldn't work!
no he like you or I should receive a fair and just trial
that is how it is and should be
Outlaw smiling in pictures
Just kill the SOB.
The more of these high powered weapons with large magazines,the more massacres that will occur. The NRAs answer is to arm everyone. The problem with that is a certain percentage of these people are the undetected mentally ill or have extreme anger issues, use assault type weapons with large magazines are their weapons of choice in most cases. The more of these weapons the easier the access to them.
Tony:
You know; there is a little island just south of FLA where no citizen has an assault rifle, or any firearms at all. They have no mass murders. They have no "Rich" to steal from you. They have government provided health care. Government provided education. Government provided food, and shelter. 100% employment. And you won't have to listen to anyone disagree with the Liberal Progressive ideology. It's everything that ideology claims to be working toward. It would seem to be your utopia. Why do you want to stay here, and fight with a bunch of grubby Capitalistic pigs who can't accept that YOU have all the answers, and know whats best for everybody? When you could just take your family, and go live in A sun drenched, breezy tropical paradise that already has a form of government that you aspire to? And it's not the only place either. Other Leftist Liberal Progressive paradises such as Venezuela, Vietnam, and North Korea also spring immediately to mind. Go! ... Live the dream. Take your children, and raise them in an environment free from the corrosive political, and social influences of capitalism, greed, and big business. If you want I'll help you pack. ... No ... scratch that last offer. If they want to treat you like a child when you get there; that's their business. This is still America. If you want to do something get up off your lazy rear end, and DO IT YOURSELF.
CUBA
here is news about socialism and gun control
an excellent piece
http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/28-12-2012/123335-americans_guns-0/
Don't you think for a minute that the more guns the higher the profits for gun manufacturers? And who is their spokesman? the NRA!
I am laughing at the fact that the government is allowing this guy to have an insanity plea! This guy had everything planned out to the smallest detail. That alone should be proof that this guy knew what he was doing? He wanted to face justice because he knew that he might get away with the crime. Most other mass killers blow their head off. This guy knows how to work the justice system and the justice system is stupid enough to allow him to do it!!!!!!!!!
I love the responses from the gun nut government conspiracy people. Do you realize there's medication that helps with your paranoia and delusions? Or is it your really that scared or both?
tony have you ever been trained in fire arms?
how about CPR?
Tony:
No! We simply don't care for your solutions to the problems. History has shown that they generally make things worse.
Like the Beatles said, "happiness is a warm gun. Bang, bang, shoot, shoot."
Insane my a$$. He was sane enough to case the place, booby traps, body armour...he's sick. Lots of insane folks out there and not all are mass murders.
Those that are need to be wiped off the face of the Earth. Done.
He might be insane thats obvious but he did know what he was doing. I think this guy is very smart and thinks he is smarter that everyone else but he has no humanity, empathy nor does he feel sad for anyone but himself. He is not capable.
How much money is gonna be spent on this trial/appeal? Just to appease the ACLU, yes this guy deserves a trial but it certainly doesn't have to drag on. Nor should any attempt to "reahabilitate" him be made. It doesnt require an air conditioned cell, for what he did only requires a cave for the rest of his life (a hybernating bear is optional).
That has got to be the worst court artist, ever. What a hack!
I have to agree with MissScarlet on keeping Holmes alive for study.
While I want to see justice do its work on this createn, I would also like psychologist to come up with some ideas and red flags about this man's behavior that way we can put the right focus on fixing or treating mental illnesses the right way rather than just let Big Pharma throw pills at the issue. When new conclusive evidence surfaces about Holmes's condition and how to treat/prevent/fix/or be aware, we can take the focus off of pro-gun control talking points and focus on the mental illness aspect. This way, we are not passing legislative trash that didn't work before (AWB 1994 and the like as an example)...
So do people think he will be found insane and not get the death penalty? I looked at the video game Batman Gotham city impostors and it seems to be like one of the games he played, what were they? Will he ever say why he did it and will they ever let us read his letter left for his psychologist at the college. He did a lot of damage and it took a long time in planning, he should have to stay in a prison at least for the rest of his life. Where are his family and what do they have to say about Batman and James Holmes' behavior.
My understanding of an insanity defense is that it would only apply if the killer was incapable of recognizing that the actions he took were wrong.
It dosen't matter how heinous his crimes were or how well organized he was - only that he couldn't tell that his actions were wrong.
It does not sound to me like he has much of a chance to make this case but let's see what his lawyer comes up with.
how about nbcnews names the article something else? anything else! is the author simply attempting to boil the bloods of americans from coast to coast? just seems counterproductive. people are already rather upset (to say the least) with this nutso, pouring salt on the wounds...shame on you. its irrelevant.
It got us to read it and comment, though...
Why are tax payer dollars being wasted on preliminary hearings? This whole thing could be put to bed for the price of a bullet.
Because we live in America. You want vigilantle justice and no due process afforded to all citizens of this country? Move to Iran. You can be as anti-American as you wish; you will fit in much better there.
It's really wonderful to see so many practicing MDs, psychologists and licensed mental health professionals weighing in here!
Who knew you could get off-the-cuff opinions AND a psychiatric diagnosis all in one and all on Newsvine??
Don't forget all the Constitutional experts!
What is it with the word "Suspect"? When the shooter was viewed performing his killing spree, the word "Suspect" shouldn't even be used. How about just plain "Guilty Cold-Blooded Killer"?
Well it might have something to do with the whole "presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty" thing. A concept you clearly don't grasp.
Nothing but semantics. Suspect or alleged shooter has to used so the defense can't claim he didn't get a fair trial, the jury was biased etc...
Where is the presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty "thing" regarding gun control?