The accused Colorado movie theater shooter, James Egan Holmes, finally heads to court for the preliminary hearing in a case pitted against him for opening fire at a movie house killing 12 people and injuring 60 others. Today, many of the surviving victims are hoping that the 24-year-old former Ph.D student pleads 'guilty' rather than 'not guilty' on insanity.
Prosecution will be releasing 911 calls and videos at this hearing. The media will finally have access to these evidences. However, both parties are still required to refrain from talking to the media as stipulated in the gag order released by Judge William Sylvester.
Chief of Colorado Denver Police Department, Doug Abraham told the media "Although the public's interest in knowing what the University of Colorado Denver Police Department knew about Mr. Holmes is substantial, it does not outweigh the need to ensure the fairness of the trial of Mr. Holmes, at this time," according to the local NBC News channel.
Holmes is expected to make a plea at the hearing today. The general prediction is that Holmes will plead 'not-guilty' based on insanity. Over the past few months, defense has tried to solidify the theory that Holmes was suffering from mental problems. We are familiar with his relationship with the university psychiatrist, a person whom Holmes expressed his desire to kill. The New York Times also revealed a number of interviews with former colleagues and classmates, all of whom testify to some extent about some underlying mental disturbance or quirk.
Initially the Ph.D. drop out was charged with 116 counts of attempted murder and 12 counts of murder, however, earlier this month prosecution under Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Pearson added 14 additional charges.
Holmes is currently being held at the Arapahoe County Detention Center.
Most crucial documents in the Aurora shooting case have been kept sealed, very few documents have been released to the public, and those that have been exposed are heavily edited.
On July 20, at a midnight screening of the cult-inducing Dark Knight Rises film, the shooting suspect, Holmes, opened fire killing 12 people and injuring 59 others at a movie house in Aurora, Colorado. He was arrested that morning and placed in custody.
During this hearing, Judge William Sylvester will decide whether prosecution has enough evidence against alleged shooter to head to trial.