James Holmes in court Monday: What will his defense be?

Appears Holmes also did some talking to the police about booby-trapping the apartment.

Holmes, interviewed afternoon July 29, said he set his stereo to play loud music to attract attention, hoping somebody would hit trip wire.

He also told cops he put a "pyrotechnic firing box" on top of his refrigerator, wired to 6-inch fireworks shells. Box was remote controlled.

More on Holme's demeaner this morning:

Shooting suspect #jamesholmes was still and showed no reaction in court while calls were played #theatershooting

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Now this is just insane. It shows that there was a lot of forethought and planning that went into this. I don't know if there was involvement of others but for sure Holmes was aware of the carefully booby-trapped apartment and how it was set up to be tripped, one way or another. What just doesn't make sense is why go through all of this and then rat yourself out to the cops.

He put the remote, FBI bomb tech said, next to a remote controlled car in an alley. Hope was someone would play with car, hitting remote.

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On another note, he is going to have a difficult time with an insanity defense here. So far I am reading about serious pre-meditation and lying in wait.

reply to post by GrantedBail


A thought I have on this is that theatre personnel could have really helped with the situation by turning off the projector and turning on the lights. Seems like everyone just split. There were no heroes amongst the people working at the theatre. I don't want to judge because I have never been in that situation, I might have just headed for the hills myself.

Between May 10 and July 20, Holmes bought four guns, 6,295 rounds of ammo, and explosive chemicals

Prosecution says hey have several surveillance videos showing Holmes purchasing weapons/ammo, but many bought online #theatershooting

On June 17, Holmes bought shooting targets, ATF agent said.#theatershooting

Bombs/incendiaries found: fireworks shells, 10 2ltr Sprite bottle filled w/ gas, 3 jars improvised napalm, smokeless powder #theatershooting

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Well it seems that Holmes DID have ads on two dating sites asking if they would visit him in prison. So that early rumor turns out to be true, or at least what the cops are testifying to. The rumor about him saying that "I am the Joker" appears to be false, or at least there has been no testimony.

"Will you visit me in prison?" That's what Holmes put on his dating headline on two dating websites.

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Originally posted by GrantedBail
Well it seems that Holmes DID have ads on two dating sites asking if they would visit him in prison. So that early rumor turns out to be true, or at least what the cops are testifying to. The rumor about him saying that "I am the Joker" appears to be false, or at least there has been no testimony.

"Will you visit me in prison?" That's what Holmes put on his dating headline on two dating websites.

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Yeah I was surprised they actually confirmed this as him. The pictures on the Adultfriendfinder site don't look like him at all.

It's amazing how people on ATS no longer care about this case. On to the next thing already? There are a couple of people legitimately interested here, and a couple of trolls.

Seems confirmed now the defense is pushing an insanity defense…and also might help push legislation to limit gun and ammo sales to “mentally ill” people:

“Jessica Fender (@Oh_Fender)
Defense: Is there any process to screen out a severely mentally ill person (from) ordering these items re: armor, bullets #theatershooting”

Originally posted by kiwasabi
It's amazing how people on ATS no longer care about this case. On to the next thing already?

Was wondering the same thing. Guess this is no longer relevant to most.

reply to post by kiwasabi


My guess is that the new DA is going to go for the death penalty. They haven't announced that yet, I believe for two reasons. One because there is a new DA that takes over this week who will be tasked with that final decision. And second because there has been no plea entered on Holme's behalf. But after just this very limited bit of testimony, the defense is going to have a hard time making their case. They are not going to get a jury to find him not guilty by insanity. I don't think that they can meet the burden based on all of the deliberate actions. IMO, so far, that is my thinking.

Originally posted by GrantedBail
reply to post by kiwasabi

 

My guess is that the new DA is going to go for the death penalty. They haven't announced that yet, I believe for two reasons. One because there is a new DA that takes over this week who will be tasked with that final decision. And second because there has been no plea entered on Holme's behalf. But after just this very limited bit of testimony, the defense is going to have a hard time making their case. They are not going to get a jury to find him not guilty by insanity. I don't think that they can meet the burden based on all of the deliberate actions. IMO, so far, that is my thinking.

I guess it's a good thing that the prosecution has no evidence proving that Holmes actually committed the massacre then, isn't it? Haha sorry, that came off as trolling. I really hope that the defense just pleads NOT GUILTY, it seems so obvious. There's plenty of reasonable doubt. In fact, there's NOTHING but reasonable doubt. As I told a friend last night, prosecutors have "the before" and "the after", but they don't have the crime itself. They have no way to really connect the dots.

reply to post by kiwasabi


They have the evidence he bought the ticket on line on the 8th of July. Video from the front and lobby shows him entering the theatre, hanging by the concession stand for a minute, and opening up the door for a couple before entering the theatre. What we haven't seen is the back of the theatre video.

Since the jury pool will be constructed of locals (should it go that far), I would think that the prosecution will make the inference that it was Holmes. IMO, the jury will buy that theory as I do not think that the defense is going to launch into outside influence or assistance. We will have to see what else comes up during the prelim. Right now it looks like they are laying the ground work for insanity.

That doesn't mean I think he acted alone. I have thought from the beginning that he was influenced. Where is the video from the rear of the theatre. Don't even try to tell me those cameras I have seen weren't working.

reply to post by GrantedBail


I really don't think he did the shooting at all. By the way, at least two witnesses say that the person who opened the exit had a goatee and wasn't James Holmes (Corbin Dates said this on Hardball with Chris Matthews, and another witness came on James Holmes Open Forum on Facebook and said this). So nobody can place James Holmes as the shooter as far as I'm aware. All they have is circumstantial evidence. They found him in the armor, and a magazine fell out of his pocket. But nobody for sure can say, "Yeah, he did the shooting".

By the way, according to someone at the prelim hearings, "There are NO cameras outside or in the theaters themselves". It's unfortunate they're saying that because I did see a camera on the back of one of the exits (I don't think it was theater 9's exit).

reply to post by kiwasabi


Yes, I do remember the goatee reference and I think I mention it somewhere in this thread. There is a camera in the parking lot by where Holmes' car was parked. Not directly outside of theatre 9 but positioned iirc to be able to view movement in and around the car. That would show him changing and getting ready, if it was him. It also may show whoever did exit the theatre on the cellphone.

I don't remember them saying there was no video from outside the theatre only that there wasn't cameras inside the actual theatre.

Originally posted by GrantedBail
reply to post by kiwasabi

 

Yes, I do remember the goatee reference and I think I mention it somewhere in this thread. There is a camera in the parking lot by where Holmes' car was parked. Not directly outside of theatre 9 but positioned iirc to be able to view movement in and around the car. That would show him changing and getting ready, if it was him. It also may show whoever did exit the theatre on the cellphone.

I don't remember them saying there was no video from outside the theatre only that there wasn't cameras inside the actual theatre.

Well if they have that footage, it would behoove them to show it to the judge! So far they don't have any hard evidence to show Holmes as being the shooter. Sounds like they don't have any gunshot residue evidence either unless they haven't presented that yet.

Updates from this afternoon:

Update from #theatershooting hearing: the movie ticket Holmes bought was for theater 8. Apparently went to theater 9 instead. Not sure why.

During #theatershoooting hearing, Defense has twice suggested Holmes might have fired at ceiling during attack.

Don't know why that is significant??^^^

Det. Appel says officers saw Holmes playing w plastic cup, trying to stick staple into electrical socket under observation #theatershooting

After Holmes arrested, cops put paper bags on his hands to preserve evidence, Holmes played puppets #theatershooting

Also, Det. Craig Appel testified guns found at #theatershooting scene matched serial # s for ones Holmes bought.

Police apparently never ordered drug/alcohol test on Holmes after his arrest in #theatershoooting case. Saw no indication of intoxication.

It was clear that the police stated he was "out of it", and his pupils were dilated. Don't like this at all.
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reply to post by GrantedBail


The fact that his ticket was for theater 8 sheds even more doubt on the fact that he was even in theater 9, let alone did the shooting. If they can't actually place James Holmes inside theater 9 they have no case against him.

Regarding them not testing for drugs or alcohol, yeah that's bad. They really wanted to overlook the clear signs and just assume he was insane.

Looks like we finally have the number of shots fired as well:

"Appel testifies to evidence collected in theater; 65 .223 casings, 6 shotgun hulls, 204 live .223 shells; most casings near right front door"

reply to post by GrantedBail


That last one

Police apparently never ordered drug/alcohol test on Holmes after his arrest in #theatershoooting case. Saw no indication of intoxication.

is absolutely shocking, unbelievable. I mean, didn't they report that he'd told them he'd taken all that Vicodin? And I'm sure I read that he'd told them he was on medication but hadn't been taking it. And tbh surely in the circumstances it would be a normal procedure? I'm absolutely shocked about that.

I found this also:

Aurora police seized four prescription bottles and immunization records when they searched theater-shooting suspect James Holmes' apartment in July, according to newly obtained filings in the murder case against Holmes.

The disclosures come in a back-and-forth between prosecutors and defense attorneys over whether those items should be subject to doctor-patient confidentiality. The judge ultimately ruled in October that prosecutors could keep the items.

Denver Post

I feel that the potential prescription drug (ie SSRI) aspect may be being deliberately suppressed, even by his own defense lawyers.

About the premeditation and an insanity plea, I totally see where you're coming from. It really reminds me of Breivik, with the bomb in Oslo used as a distraction and to split resources from Utøya (to the extent that I wonder if Holmes copied that aspect), the psychiatrists that saw Breivik initially didn't have any difficulty in reaching the decision that he was insane at the time, although I know that's since been overturned. But I guess that Norway and the US could be very different.

Originally posted by kiwasabi
reply to post by GrantedBail

 

The fact that his ticket was for theater 8 sheds even more doubt on the fact that he was even in theater 9, let alone did the shooting. If they can't actually place James Holmes inside theater 9 they have no case against him.

Regarding them not testing for drugs or alcohol, yeah that's bad. They really wanted to overlook the clear signs and just assume he was insane.

That's an incredibly good point

Originally posted by theAnswer1111
reply to post by IvanAstikov

 

After having researched MK-Ultra extensively, as well as the effects of Scopolamine, his behavior is a clear sign of mind control, in my opinion and speculation.

Just out of curiosity, what sort of behavior is indicative of a lone gunner just going off on his own? Certainly not all cases like this are examples of "mind control."

Originally posted by GrantedBail
reply to post by GrantedBail

 

A thought I have on this is that theatre personnel could have really helped with the situation by turning off the projector and turning on the lights.

I doubt any employees were in that theater; they don't even have projectionists in multiplexes anymore. The theater personnel (who are mostly just minimum wage kids) in the lobby wouldn't have known anything was going on until people started running out.