James Holmes Psychiatrist Warned Police He Was 'Homicidal' Before Aurora Mass Shooting

Could the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo. last summer have been stopped if police had acted on a tip received prior to the massacre that the alleged killer was "homicidal"? According to numerous recently unsealed court documents in the trial of James Holmes, the accused shooter's psychiatrist warned police he might pose a threat to others just weeks before the tragedy. 

Holmes is currently facing 166 charges stemming from a mass shooting last July, when he allegedly stormed the Century 16 theaters in Aurora, Colo. during a screening of "The Dark Knight," fatally shot 12 people, and wounded another 70. State prosecutors announced Monday they intend to seek the death penalty. 

Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. approved requests Thursday by various media companies to unseal roughly 12 warrants and affidavits in Holmes' case. One of the newly released documents reveals that Holmes' psychiatrist, Dr. Lynne Fenton, who worked at The University of Colorado, informed police in June 2012 that the neuroscience student was a "danger to the public due to homicidal statements." Fenton also told authorities that Holmes had began threatening her. The document details a discussion between Aurora police officer Will Hinton and University of Colorado police officer Lynn Whitten, following the July 20 shootings, regarding Fenton's warning to campus police.

"Dr. Fenton advised that she had been treating Holmes, and that Holmes had stopped seeing her and had begun threatening her via text messages," Whitten told authorities. In response to the threats, the university police officer deactivated Holmes' identification card on July 12, which allowed him to enter university buildings.

Among the other newly released documents was a search warrant that recorded the contents of a package discovered in the university's mailroom sent by Holmes to Fenton four days before the shooting. Inside, police found a brown spiral notebook with "James Holmes" written on the cover, and "Of Life" written in a box designated for course name. The package also contained $400-worth of burned $20 bills and a post-it note "with an infinity design."

The contents of the package "may assist in determining what methods of planning were involved to carry out this crime," wrote Aurora Police Sgt. Matthew Fyles in the document.

In another of the search warrants, police detailed a huge collection of evidence seized from Holmes' apartment, including including a Batman mask, bullets, fuses, index cards with chemical formulas written on them, paper targets, and prescription medications used for treating anxiety and depression.

At an initial hearing in the case, Holmes' lawyer told the judge that his client still wasn't ready to enter a plea, despite several trial delays. To get proceedings under way, Judge William Sylvester entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf, and said that Holmes could later change the plea to not guilt by reason of insanity if he so chose. In the event Holmes decides to make the change in his plea, Judge Sylvester ruled that prosecuting attorneys would be allowed to question him while he is "under the influence" of a truth serum, according to CBS News. The belief being that this kind of "narcoanalytic interview" could be used to determine if Holmes was legally insane when he went on the rampage July, 20 2012. 

The exact "truth serum" drug authorities would administer has yet to be announced, aside from a statement that the substance would be "medically appropriate," The Guardian reported. Legal experts suspect the drug most likely to be used for loosening up Holmes to talk would be a "short-acting barbiturate such as sodium amytal."

Legal experts expect Holmes' defense team to claim he is not guilty by reason of insanity. 

Since 1982, there have been "at least 61 mass murders carried out with firearms across the country" in 30 states, according to Mother Jones; of those, 15 occurred in 2012 alone, according to The Huffington Post.