James Holmes

Holmes was arrested shortly after the shooting and was jailed without bail while awaiting trial. Following this, he was hospitalized after attempting suicide several times while in jail. Holmes entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, which was accepted. His trial began on April 27, 2015, and on August 24 he was sentenced to 12 consecutive life sentences plus 3,318 years without parole.

Jury selection eventually started on January 20, 2015, after a request by Holmes' lawyers for yet another continuance was denied. The juror selection process lasted three months and summoned 9,000 candidates, making it the largest jury summons in U.S. history. On April 15, selection ended, with a total of nineteen women and five men serving. There were concerns about the selection of the jurors since at least two from the pool of twelve primary jurors, along with twelve alternatives, had ties to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre: "Juror No. 535", the aunt of a Columbine survivor; and "Juror No. 737", a man who was a student there at the time and also a former friend of the shooters. The trial began on April 27 with opening arguments by the prosecution explaining that Holmes intentionally went to the movie theater that evening with the deliberate intent to kill as many people as possible in a mass shooting spree. The defense opened up their argument by admitting all the facts that Holmes was indeed the shooter, but that he is mentally ill with severe schizophrenia and was never in control of his right mind. Starting on April 28, and over the next few weeks, prosecution testimony included various survivors of the massacre and the after-effects it had on the survivors.

On December 4, 2015, Judge Carlos Samour ordered Holmes to pay $955,000 in restitution to the victims. The judgment ordered $851,000 of the restitution to be sent to the state victim compensation fund, and $103,000 to be paid directly to the victims.

In September 2015, Holmes was moved to the Colorado State Penitentiary in Cañon City. Authorities said they had not determined at which facility Holmes would be ultimately incarcerated and that it was possible he might be moved out of state due to his high profile.

On October 8, 2015, Holmes was assaulted by another inmate, identified as Mark Daniels, who was convicted of auto theft. Daniels attacked Holmes after a prison guard inadvertently opened a gate separating the two of them; he struck Holmes twice before being subdued by prison staff. At the time, Holmes was not allowed interaction with other inmates. As a result of the attack, he was secretly transferred to an undisclosed location out of the state. According to the inmate locator on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Holmes is incarcerated at USP Allenwood in Gregg Township, Union County, Pennsylvania. The exact reason for the transfer to federal custody is not known for certain but seems to be at least in part due to a heightened need for security.

On February 27, 2014, Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour set the start of Holmes' trial for October 14. However, the trial was delayed to December 8 upon a defense request for a continuance to further evaluate Holmes' mental condition. On that date, the trial was again postponed as Holmes' lawyers asked for another continuance to further prepare their case and review the paperwork of evidence.

On June 25, less than a month before the shooting, Holmes emailed an application to join a gun club in Byers, Colorado. The owner, Glenn Rotkovich, called him several times throughout the following days to invite him to a mandatory orientation, but could only reach his answering machine. Holmes left Rotkovich one voicemail in reply. Due to the nature of Holmes' voicemail, which Rotkovich described as "bizarre", "freaky", "guttural", "spoken with a deep voice", "incoherent and rambling", Rotkovich instructed his staff to inform him if Holmes showed up, though Holmes neither appeared at the gun range nor called back. "In hindsight, looking back – and if I'd seen the movies – maybe I'd say it was like the Joker – I would have gotten the Joker out of it... It was like somebody was trying to be as weird as possible," Rotkovich said.

Holmes returned to court on January 7, 2013, at which 9-1-1 phone call recordings and videos from the cineplex were presented as evidence, information that up until then had not been released. Holmes' defense team continued to maintain that he was mentally ill. On that same day, it is reported that investigators seized four prescription bottles and immunization records from his apartment when it was searched in July 2012. It was not revealed what the prescriptions were or what they were for. The judge ultimately ruled in October that prosecutors could keep the items.

On January 10, 2013, a judge ruled that the evidence presented is sufficient for Holmes to face trial on all counts with which he has been charged. His plea hearing was delayed until March 2013.

On March 27, 2013, Holmes' attorneys said he would be willing to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty. On March 28, prosecutors said they were not ready to accept Holmes' offer to plead guilty and avoid the death penalty and also criticized the offer as a deliberate ploy by the defense in order to delay the start of the trial.

On April 1, 2013, prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty in a trial to start in February 2014. On May 7, 2013, Holmes' attorneys filed their intent for him to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. He made this change in his plea on May 31. On May 23, 2013, Holmes' attorneys called the state's insanity-plea rules unconstitutional. On May 29, 2013, the judge ruled about the constitutionality of the laws for insanity-plea questioned by Holmes' attorneys, concluding that the laws are not in violation of the Constitution. On June 4, 2013, the presiding judge accepted his plea of insanity defense.

On August 5, 2013, Holmes was transferred to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo, Colorado. By August 20, 2013, Holmes was no longer detained at Colorado Mental Health Institute; he was transferred back to jail.

On May 27, Dr. William Reid, a court-appointed psychiatrist who interviewed Holmes for a total of about 22 hours, testified that Holmes was mentally ill but legally sane, diagnosing him as having schizotypal personality disorder, which is characterized by constricted behavior and difficulties relating to others. Reid and another doctor evaluated Holmes in December 2013, determining him to be legally sane, and that his mental illness did not prevent him from forming intent and knowing the consequences of his actions. Holmes' attorneys tried to call for a mistrial, saying that the jurors heard an unprompted opinion that complicated the legal standard for judging the sanity of a person, but the judge refused to grant the request.

On May 29, videos of Reid's interviews with Holmes in 2013 were shown to the court. In the videos, Holmes described his social awkwardness and the violent, paranoid thoughts he had been having prior to the massacre. He also stated his belief that he was being followed by federal agents at the time of the massacre and hoped they would apprehend him at the theater before he could act. According to him, he transitioned from suicidal thoughts to homicidal thoughts after becoming depressed from his breakup with his girlfriend. On June 8, a second psychiatrist, Jeffrey Metzner, testified that Holmes was mentally ill but legally sane when he plotted and carried out the shooting, and that he suffers from schizoaffective disorder. He interviewed Holmes for a total of 25 hours.

In 2012, Holmes' academic performance declined, and he scored poorly on the comprehensive exam in the spring. The university was not planning to expel him; however, Holmes was in the process of withdrawing from the university. Three days after failing a key oral exam at the university in early June 2012, Holmes dropped out of his studies without further explanation. At the time of his arrest, he gave his occupation as "laborer."

On May 22, 2012, Holmes purchased a Glock 22 pistol at a Gander Mountain shop in Aurora. Six days later, on May 28, he bought a Remington 870 Express Tactical shotgun at a Bass Pro Shops store in Denver. On June 7, just hours after failing his oral exam at the university, he purchased a Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport rifle. All three of these weapons were bought legally, and background checks were performed. In the four months prior to the shooting, Holmes also bought 3,000 rounds of ammunition for the pistol, 3,000 rounds for the M&P15, and 350 shells for the shotgun over the Internet. On July 2, he placed an order for a Blackhawk Urban Assault Vest, two magazine holders, and a knife at an online retailer. He also purchased spike strips, which he later admitted he planned to use in case police would shoot at or follow him in a car chase.

On July 20, 2012, police arrested Holmes without resistance while he was standing next to his car behind the Century 16 theater, moments after the shooting. Holmes had snuck out an exit door, propped it open, and returned with weapons and other gear, setting off several gas or smoke canisters and then opening fire on the theater audience, killing 12 and wounding 70. According to testimonies during the following trial, Holmes was initially "calm and detached" during the arrest, but became interested in watching the aftermath of the shooting after being placed in the back of a police car. The responding officers recovered several guns from inside the car and the theater.

Holmes made his first court appearance in Centennial, Colorado, on July 23, 2012, before Judge William B. Sylvester. He was read his rights and no bail was given due to the nature of the charges. A mandatory protection order was issued by the judge. The judge appointed a public defender. Holmes said nothing and never looked at the judge. His appearance and behavior, which was described as "dazed" and "confused" fueled speculation about his mental state. Holmes was represented by the Colorado State Public Defender.

In October 2011, Holmes began dating a fellow student in his biology class. Their relationship lasted about two months, ending when she felt distant from him following an encounter between Holmes and another man who talked to her during a date on Saint Patrick's Day. According to her, Holmes often made flat jokes that made other people feel uncomfortable and had also expressed his desire to kill people. She tried to recommend getting professional help despite not taking his claims seriously. They resumed their relationship in early January 2012, but it ended again in February. Holmes told a state-appointed psychiatric physician that "their breakup contributed to his violent depression".

In June 2011, Holmes enrolled as a Ph.D. student in neuroscience at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. He received a $21,600 grant from the National Institutes of Health, according to agency records, which was disbursed in installments from July 2011 to June 2012. Holmes also received a $5,000 stipend from the University of Colorado, Denver. Though Holmes received a letter of acceptance to UIUC, where he was offered a $22,600 stipend and free tuition, he declined their offer without specifying a reason. Reviewers of Holmes' application at UIUC remembered his application because he submitted a picture of himself with a llama.

In the fall of 2010, Holmes was employed at a pill- and capsule-coating factory in San Diego County. One of his coworkers said that Holmes was unsociable, and once acted strangely at a laboratory work station by staring at a wall and not verbally responding, only smirking when his coworker asked if he was okay.

In 2008, Holmes worked as a counselor at a residential summer camp in Glendale, California, that catered to children aged 7–14. There, he was responsible for ten children and had no disciplinary problems.

In 2006, Holmes worked as an intern at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies where he was assigned to write computer code for an experiment. Holmes, who was described by his supervisor as stubborn, uncommunicative and socially inept, presented his project to the other interns at the end of the internship, but never actually completed it. Holmes wrote of his experiences at the Salk Institute in a college application essay: "I had little experience in computer programming and the work was challenging to say the least. Nonetheless, I taught myself how to program in Flash and then construct a cross-temporal calibration model.... Completing the project and presenting my model at the end of the internship was exhilarating."

Graduating from Westview High School in the Torrey Highlands community of San Diego in 2006, Holmes attended the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and, in 2010, received his undergraduate degree in neuroscience with the highest honors. He was a member of several honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key. According to UCR recommendation letters submitted to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), Holmes graduated in the top 1% of his class with a 3.949 GPA. The UCR letters also described Holmes as "a very effective group leader" and a person who "takes an active role in his education, and brings a great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity into the classroom". Holmes scored in the 98th percentile on the verbal portion, the 94th percentile on the quantitative portion and the 45th percentile on the analytical writing portion of the Graduate Record Examinations.

James Eagan Holmes (born December 13, 1987) is an American mass murderer responsible for the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting in which he killed 12 people and injured 70 others (62 directly and eight indirectly) at a Century 16 movie theater on July 20, 2012. He had no known criminal background before the shooting occurred. Holmes booby-trapped his apartment with explosives before the shooting, which were defused one day later by a bomb squad.

Holmes was born on December 13, 1987 in San Diego, California. His father is a mathematician and scientist with degrees from Stanford University, UCLA and UC Berkeley, and his mother is a registered nurse. He has one sister. Holmes was raised in Oak Hills, a community near Castroville, California, where he attended elementary school. At twelve years old, Holmes moved back to San Diego. There, he lived in the Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood, where he reportedly began to decline socially. He went to Westview High School and graduated in 2006. Holmes played soccer and ran cross-country in high school. He attended Peñasquitos Lutheran Church with his family, according to the Lutheran church's pastor. According to Holmes' lawyer, Daniel King, Holmes began to suffer from mental health issues in middle school and attempted suicide at age 11.