CENTENNIAL, Colo. — James Holmes had July 20, 2012 circled on the calendar hanging from a wall in his apartment. He drew an infinity sign around the date. Perhaps it meant he could never turn back. Perhaps it meant after the act, he would only infinitely move forward in a single direction.
There will be no turning back once the jury decides the defendant’s fate. He stands trial for shooting and killing 12 and injuring 70 at the midnight premier of “The Dark Knight Rises” on July 20, 2012. Defense attorneys seek to prove Holmes was insane on that night. Prosecutors seek the death penalty.
Monday, Day 10 of the trial, was a battle between the defense and prosecution on technicalities, each side fighting for any inch to be gained. The fight dragged out.
Objection.
Approach the bench.
Objection.
Approach the bench.
Objection.
Approach the bench.
Antsy jurors fanned themselves with stacks of paper or fidgeted in their chairs. They were, however, engaged, Judge Carlos Samour said.
“The jury has a lot of questions, so feel free to mingle, just not about the case,” he said.
The jury asked several questions about the evidence collected from inside James Holmes’ apartment. It was rigged to explode upon the trigger of a trip wire. The jury honed in, asking about the intricate design’s intentionality, including: What was the design set up to accomplish? Were the explosives set up for functionality or intimidation?
The jury probed the witnesses to determine whether testimony supported the defense’s position on intimidation or the prosecution’s position on functionality.
Prosecution called FBI Special Agent Christopher Rigopoulos to the stand. He described in detail what the FBI found in JH’s apartment.
Commercially available explosives were rigged to blow and gasoline saturated the carpet fibers, Rigopoulos said. With the use of a robot and controlled movements, the FBI entered without incident. “Distractors” were in place to divert attention away from the explosives, including a blinking LED light, Rigopoulos said.
“It’s not part of an I.E.D., it’s an enhancement,” Rigopoulos said of the light.
Rigopoulos used the term “design” several times throughout his testimony. The insistence suggested he thought the process took forethought and focus.
The defense objected to several parts of Rigopoulos’s testimony as there was speculation. It seemed he was characterizing the set up as intentional, intricate and almost militaristic.
The defense created a space for their argument amid another daunting pile of evidence when it asked Rigopoulos to confirm that pharmacy paperwork was collected at the apartment. The exhibits were not published and the specific medications were not identified at that time. The defense will likely return to the exhibits.
“It would have functioned as designed,” Rigopoulos said.
Jessica Cummiskey holds a postdoctoral position at the ˛ĘĂń±¦µä doing research on molecular, cellular and developmental biology. She worked in the same lab as Holmes during his time as a Ph.D. student in Boulder.
Holmes seemed to almost stare though the desk during class, Cummiskey said. It didn’t seem to her that he was engaged or ever paid attention. She can’t recall him taking notes or having a book open during discussions.
“He would snap back into it and answer the question correctly,” Cummiskey said of Holmes when professors called on him.
She noticed his pupils were completely blown out a handful of times, Cummiskey said. She described them as shocking, stunning.
She attempted to engage Holmes in small talk but he wasn’t receptive. He even went out of his way to avoid interaction with her, Cummiskey said.
“After a while I just stopped any sort of communication,” Cummiskey said.
Two witnesses were called to testify on invoices found for the purchase of armor.
The jury asked no questions about the invoices, despite the exorbitant amount of time spent debating whether the evidence was admissible.
The invoices, however, revealed that on armored chaps and a gas mask alone, the defendant spent approximately $1,000, months before the date of the attack.