Jury Finds Colorado Theater Shooter James Holmes Guilty; Eligible for Death Penalty
LITTLETON, Colo., July 16 (UPI) — A Colorado jury has found James Holmes guilty of all 165 charges he faced, along with 24 counts of first-degree murder for a shooting at an Aurora movie theater in 2012.
The verdict was read at 4 p.m. local time Thursday at the Arapahoe County, Colo., courthouse, the Denver Post reported. He faced 165 charges for killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others.
The jury deliberated a day and a half.
Holmes’ trial started April 27, three years after the shooting, which also resulted in injuries to dozens of people. He is accused of opening fire in July 2012 during a midnight showing of The Dark Night Rises at the Century Aurora 16 Multiplex Theater.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in this case, making the trial legally complicated. Holmes pleaded not guilty to 165 charges by reason of insanity. His motives for the shooting remain unknown. Friends and classmates previously described him as increasingly detached.
