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Colorado shooting suspect to be charged formally in court
The former graduate student accused of killing 12 people in a shooting spree at a Denver-area cinema is due to make a second court appearance today as prosecutors and defence lawyers sparred over a mysterious package sent to his psychiatrist.
James Holmes is to face formal charges in court later today for the murder of 12 people and attempted murder of another 58 in the Denver cinema shootings on 20 July
James Holmes, 24, was arrested shortly after prosecutors say he opened fire at a packed midnight movie premiere of "A Dark Knight Rises" on 20 July. Criminal charges against Holmes, who has remained jailed since his arrest, are expected to be formally presented at Monday's hearing.
He is also accused of wiring his apartment with enough explosives to have levelled the entire building had they been detonated. It took authorities several days to safely dismantle and dispose of the booby traps.
The rampage left 12 dead and 58 injured, several critically.
At his initial court hearing one week ago, Holmes said nothing and appeared dazed and groggy, occasionally closing his eyes as if fighting off sleep. What, if anything, investigators might have learned about a motive for the shooting has remained shrouded in secrecy.
Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester has sealed most court records and investigative documents from public scrutiny and barred anyone connected with the case from speaking to the media.
Sylvester has said he will consider a request by news media organizations to unseal documents in the case.
Holmes, a San Diego native, was a doctoral student of neuroscience at the Anschutz campus before dropping out recently.
Court documents filed on Friday by defence lawyers said the suspect had been under the care of a psychiatrist, Dr. Lynne Fenton, who is on the faculty of the University of Colorado-Denver's Anschutz Medical Campus.
The hearing on Monday will also address a package that Holmes sent to Fenton and was later seized by investigators.
The university confirmed earlier this week that a suspicious package was delivered by mail on Monday and that it was "immediately investigated and handed over to authorities within hours," but gave no further details of the parcel.
Defence attorneys are seeking a court order requiring prosecutors to immediately turn over all evidence pertaining to the seizure of a package, citing doctor-patient privilege.
Friday's defence motion provided the first definitive public inkling that Holmes was known to have suffered psychiatric problems before the shooting.
Fenton, the medical director for student mental health services at the Anschutz campus, provides medication and psychotherapy for grad students in addition to her teaching duties, according to a school website.
Under Colorado law, mental health professionals cannot be held liable in civil suits for failing to predict a patient's violent behaviour unless it involves a "serious threat of imminent physical violence against a specific person or persons." When such a threat is made, the mental health professional is required to take action, which may include notifying those targeted or a law enforcement agency.
Fenton could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the University of Colorado medical school declined to comment, citing restrictions under the judge's gag order in the case.
