Fraying family ties cut to heart of theater gunman’s defense

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A nationally known schizophrenia expert took the stand in James Holmes’ defense Monday and is expected to testify that he was legally insane when he killed 12 people at a crowded Colorado movie premiere.

But more than two months into his trial, their son has yet to turn around and acknowledge them.

They called him Jimbo.

The relationship Arlene and Robert Holmes had with their son had been strained since he was a boy. Following he left for graduate school, their communication was mostly confined to terse emails.

Gur diagnosed Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, with schizophrenia and said he was psychotic during the attack that also injured 70. Holmes’ ability to clearly write in the notebook he mailed to a therapist treating him at the University of Colorado was not evidence of his sanity, she said. Defense attorneys say their fraying family ties reveal a man so delusional that he couldn’t bear revealing his struggle, even to these who could have helped.

Just before the trial, Holmes’ parents begged for a plea deal that would spare his life. “We have always loved him, and we do not want him to be executed”.

Gur’s findings also differ from those of two court-appointed doctors who studied Holmes in the months and years after the shooting and found him legally sane at the time of the attack. Holmes flashed them a swift glance Monday as they entered the courtroom.

It’s hard to inform how all this impacts them. They have created really handful of public statements in the almost three years since the attack. They don’t cry or hang their heads. Arlene occasionally reaches for her husband’s hand throughout especially heart-wrenching moments, and he wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

They have declined to comment during the trial, and court orders prevent reporters from approaching them. They could be known as to testify as the defense continues presenting its case, or far more probably, at sentencing if he is convicted. “We are like no one else in the world”.

District Attorney George Brauchler, the lead prosecutor, told the jury that, though Gur is the director of a renowned center for schizophrenic research, she is not a licensed forensic psychiatrist.

In particular, Gur admitted she formed her first opinion on Holmes – that he has schizophrenia and was insane at the time of the shooting – after only 13 of her 28 hours with him, and before she spoke to his parents. But Arlene Holmes says in a book she prays for the victims and feels self-guilt.

Brauchler said she referenced videos of the defendant acting oddly in custody but asked her if she saw others showing him trying to fashion a club from a handicap bar, attempting to slip out of his handcuffs, and trying to take the cover off an electrical wall outlet. When it came time to leave for his competitive neuroscience system at the University of Colorado, Denver, he turned down his father’s provide to drive with him.

Prosecutors have said some statements Holmes made to Gur conflicted with those he gave to other examiners.

Brauchler noted Gur’s report contained at least one inaccuracy and no mention of Holmes’ breakup with his girlfriend and first love, which prosecutors consider a major catalyst for the shooting.

Another psychiatrist called by the defense, Dr. Jonathan Woodcock, testified two weeks ago that Holmes didn’t know right from wrong.

His parents offered to let him move home. But Gur said he once displayed an “unusual level” of emotion when she asked about his time in high school.

By then, Holmes had already assembled an arsenal of weapons. But Brauchler, who is seeking the death penalty, suggested Gur came to a hasty conclusion about Holmes’ mind.