James Holmes Found Guilty in Aurora Movie Theater Shooting

By The Associated Press on July 16, 2015.

James Holmes has been found guilty of murder after taking the lives of 12 people.

Eric Sullivan, whose son Alex was murdered in the attack, said: “I hope this guy no longer gets to breathe the sweet air Coloradans get to breathe”.

“Justice is served”, read another.

Sandy Phillips, Ghawi’s mother, later cheered the verdict, saying: “We are very happy that this animal, that this monster, will never see the light of day”. The convictions come just days before the third anniversary of the shooting.

“In this particular case, what other outcome fits the crime of what he did”, he said.

The youngest person killed during the horrendous massacre was a 6-year-old girl. “A sense of relief came over me. We believe that the death penalty is morally wrong, especially when the condemned is mentally ill”, reads the letter in part.

Larimer was on a date with Julia Vojtsek, 26, formerly of Algonquin, when Holmes opened fire on the theater during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises”.

Holmes remained impassive while the verdict was being delivered. The shooting rampage left 12 dead and 70 wounded.

The district attorney is seeking the death penalty.

The jurors now will decide whether to sentence Holmes to death or life in prison without parole in the trial’s sentencing phase.

Before dismissing them, Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. reminded jurors not to talk to anyone about the case and not to begin deliberating the sentence in their minds.

Brauchler, during his closing argument this week, read to the jury mundane emails which Holmes sent to his parents discussing everyday topics, including the weather and a savings account, all while he was steadily amassing “overwhelming” firepower, steel-penetrating rounds, and bomb-making materials. It took an hour. He was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder for each of the three additional survivors who were injured next door in Theater 8.

Defense lawyers tried to present him as a once-promising student so crippled by mental illness that he couldn’t reveal his struggles to anyone who might have helped. The judge took an hour Thursday reading each of the 165 guilty verdicts against James Holmes.

Dressed in a blue dress shirt and khakis, he stood at the defence table, three of his public defenders on both sides of him and two more standing behind him.

The prosecution argued that Holmes’ detailed preparations for the attack showed that he knew what he was doing, and knew it was wrong.

April 1, 2013 – Prosecutors say they’ll seek the death penalty.

Victims and family of victims wearing Batman clothes arrive for the second court appearance of James Holmes, in Centennial, Colorado July 30, 2012.

Two deputies are stationed on the roof.

Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the July 20, 2012, shootings. There also were 140 charges relating to the 70 people wounded in the attack along with one explosives charge. He only stopped shooting after one of the guns jammed.

The jury saw an investigator’s video of the shooting’s aftermath. Nevertheless, more than 200 witnesses called by prosecutors carried the jury to its decision. A court spokesman said the verdict will be announced at 4:15 p.m. Aurora time.

If jurors had found Holmes was insane, he would have been committed indefinitely to a state mental hospital.