By Jason Sickles
Prosecutors on Monday charged James Holmes with two dozen counts of first-degree murder and more than 100 other violent offenses related to the recent deadly rampage at a Colorado movie theater.
Holmes, who appeared in court with the same cartoonish orange-red hair he had at the time of the shooting, said only one word during Monday’s hearing.
“Yes,” he answered when asked by the judge if he waived his right to a preliminary hearing within 35 days.
Police say Holmes, 24, blasted his way through a packed movie house during a premiere showing of Batman “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora.
Twelve victims died in the attack, 58 others were wounded. The melee is among the worst mass shootings in modern-day American history. Prosecutors filed a total of 142 criminal charges against him, including 116 counts of attempted murder. The 24 murder counts reflect dual charges (premeditated and without remorse) by the prosecutors.
In the lengthy list of charges, the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office accuses Holmes of, “evidencing an attitude of universal malice manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.”
During Monday’s hearing, Judge William Sylvester carefully explained to Holmes that the charges carry a minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum of death. The district attorney near Denver has not announced if she will seek the death penalty against the alleged gunman.
Half of the 110-seat courtroom was filled with victims or their families. One survivor entered the courtroom in a wheelchair with a bandage on her left leg. Blood from a wound could be seen through the bandage. Some stared intently at Holmes, who sat at the defense table to the right of his two attorneys, throughout the 50-minute hearing. Others focused on Judge Sylvester and attorneys as they discussed procedural issues and hearing dates.
Ashley Moser lost her 6-year-old daughter in the attack and was also paralyzed in the shooting. Her aunt, MaryEllen Hensen, was in court on Monday and said the suspect looked more alert in today’s hearing. In his first court appearance, Holmes was described by many as being dazed and groggy.
“When we’d seen him before, he looked kind of spaced out or out of touch,” Hensen said. “He looked very alert today and very lucid.”
Still, she said, “he had an expression and persona of evilness to him.”
Some in the court’s gallery wore sunglasses. One woman cried openly. Three people, including a woman with a bandaged arm, wore Batman T-shirts.
“It saddens our family that there is a man that has so much hate and evil in his heart,” the family of Gordon Cowden said in a statement after Monday’s hearing. “We feel confident that our judicial system, as will God and the public, see to it that this evil man receives the punishment he deserves and our hope and prayers are that one day, he will face God with remorse and tremendous sorrow for his actions.”