24 year old James Eagan Holmes was formally charge with 142 separate felony charges in court on Monday. Holmes only spoke once responding “yes” to waive his right to a preliminary hearing within 35 days. Holmes’ response was sent by tweet from Denver Post Courts reporter John Ingold.
Prosecutors presented dual charges for Holmes in case, his lawyers try an insanity defense. The dual charges -“murder with deliberation” and “killing with extreme indifference to the value of human life” this gives the jury a choice of two strategies to a potential death penalty sentence under Colorado law, reports NBC’s Pete Williams.
UPDATE: James E. Holmes will be formally charge today in the tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado over a week ago. Holmes will be charge with 12 counts of murder 58 counts of malicious wounding. He was not charged with booby trapping his apartment designed to blow-up police when they arrived to investigate the incident at the movie theater.
BREAKING NEWS: James E. Holmes the suspect in the Friday massacre at the Aurora Century Movie Theater made his first court appearance in Centennial, Colorado this morning. He was a wearing a red jail uniform and sporting his dyed red hair. He looked sedated and afraid. His charges of first degree murder will be formally filed on Monday, July 30, 2012. Holmes was denied a bond due to the nature of the crimes.
UPDATE: A California mother phoned the authorities in Aurora, Colorado and said “you have right person”. She told ABC News that the gunman responsible for deadly shooting at the movie theater was indeed her son James Holmes.
A gunman heavily armed with a rifle, handgun, wearing a gas mask and a bulletproof vest opened fire during an early morning showing of the new Batman movie “Dark Knight Rises” killing 12 people and wounding 59. Police Chief Dan Oates told reporters that the movie attendants were confused because they heard shots fired and thought it was apart of the movie. The wounded were taken to the University of Colorado Hospital and treated in range from minor to critical.
The shooting happened Friday, 12:30 a.m. approximately 20 minutes into the movie at the Century Aurora 16 Theater about 20 miles outside of Denver. The wounded included young children, teens and adults. The gunman kicked in an emergency exit of the movie theater threw tear gas and opened fire. The gunman, a 24 year old white male has been identified as James Eagan Holmes.
The suspect James Eagan Holmes, a graduate student from San Diego attending the University of Colorado-Denver Medical School was in the process of withdrawing from the neuroscience program.
Holmes was arrested without incident in the parking lot of the movie theater. An investigation into the mass shooting is underway. Aurora police would not speculate on a motive for the massacre.
