Harrowing evidence photos of James Holmes’ apartment offer new glimpse into Colorado theater shooting case
Former prosecutor: “This entire case is something that people can learn from.”
Crime scene images from one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history are providing a disturbing glimpse into Colorado theater shooter James Holmes’ frightening behavior leading up the July 2012 massacre.
The photos were made public by the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s office in response to open-records requests. With the trial concluding last month, Colorado law allows the public to seek access to criminal justice records in the possession of a criminal justice agency.
“This entire case is something that people can learn from,” said Karen Steinhauser, a Denver lawyer and former prosecutor. “I believe that police officers dealing with a mass shooting investigation or any type of investigation can learn from the investigation that was done, how the crime scene was investigated and documented, photographed, videoed, etc.”
The hundreds of images include photos investigators took of the guns Holmes used in the July 20, 2012, rampage and the homemade explosives in his apartment that he hoped would distract first responders from the theater.
The jerry-rigged booby trap, which included napalm (a highly flammable liquid used in warfare), was never tripped. The shocking new images reveal an elaborate explosive system of wires, gasoline-filled soda bottles, bullets, gunpowder and more.
Holmes, who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, was convicted in late July for killing 12 people and injuring more than 70 others. Jurors could not agree on a death sentence, so the former neuroscience student will spend life in prison.
The jury saw most of the crime scene images during the four-month capital murder trial and requested to see photos from the theater again a few hours before announcing it couldn’t agree on punishing Holmes with death.
“The degree of planning it took just one man to carry this out — this is not snapping behavior,” said Mary Ellen O’Toole, a former FBI profiler who now directs the Forensic Science Program at George Mason University, in an email to Yahoo News.
“This is behavior that was in the fantasy phase for years and in the planning phase for weeks if not months,” O’Toole continued. “The complexity of the rigging of the explosives goes to his ability to think logically and strategically. All of the above show the public that this man was not ‘insane’ when he committed this act and that there was so much pre offense behavior to see — why didn’t someone see and say something.”
One of videos released shows Holmes being interrogated in the hours after the shooting. On the tape, Holmes asks police, “There wasn’t any children hurt, was there?” A detective responds, “We’ll get to that.”
“The interview that was done with Holmes is also something that is important and can teach — particularly the question in this case about children — which really was important in the insanity case,” Steinhauser told Yahoo News in an email.
“These victims and their friends and family suffered horrible deaths and injuries — because, in part, they had nowhere to run to,” O’Toole said. “The trial cost millions, but if there were no trial, this evidence that tells the story may never have come out in its entirety.”
As of Friday, the DA’s office said about 20 requests for records from the case have been made. Most of the inquiries have been from media outlets, but two came from attorneys and one from a theater victim.
“The visuals that were used in trial will be helpful as we teach students and young lawyers how to not only tell but also show the story of what really happened in the case, and how those visuals were effectively used at trial,” Steinhauser wrote. “We have seen the O.J. [Simpson murder] case be used in law school as far as what not to do. The Holmes case will be an example of what to do, for law enforcement and for trial lawyers.”
Jason Sickles is a national reporter for Yahoo News. Follow him on Twitter (@jasonsickles).
