Defense: Theater shooter killed to improve self-worth

CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Aurora theater shooter James Holmes suffers from schizophrenia and is so delusional he believed killing people would improve his value as a person, defense attorneys said Monday in laying out their efforts to save his life.

Prosecutors concede that Holmes is mentally ill, but say his extensive planning and ability to conceal his intentions indicate he knew what he was doing was wrong as he bought an arsenal of guns, strapped on body armor, and stalked a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., killing 12 and injuring 70. Two court-appointed experts have ruled Holmes is sane.

Both sides on Monday laid out how they will argue the case during what is expected to be a four-month trial before 12 jurors and 12 alternates. Holmes, a former neuroscience graduate student at the University of Colorado, faces the death penalty if convicted on any of the 24 murder charges brought against him following the July 20, 2012 attack at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises.

After months of hearings about logistical details, Monday was the first day in which prosecutors and defense attorneys directly addressed Holmes' motives. The courtroom was packed with media and victims' families. Stunned silence fell over the court room as prosecutors played one of the first 911 calls from that night, gunshots still ringing out in the theater.

Jurors also several times heard from Holmes himself as both sides played videotaped interviews conducted with mental-health experts.

"I only count fatalities," a sullen-looking Holmes said in one interview when asked about his belief that killing people increased his self-worth. Asked about the injured, he responded: "They're collateral damage, I guess."

In court, Holmes sat unmoved as District Attorney George Brauchler used his own notebook, emails, texts and Internet chats to detail an increasing record of failure, from lagging schoolwork to relationships with women. Brauchler detailed Holmes' months-long preparations, from buying guns and armor to making napalm to booby-trap his apartment with gunpowder and napalm made from gasoline and styrofoam cups.

Holmes had murderous thoughts for years, and eventually decided to act as his world slowly crumbled and he lost what little purpose he had, Brauchler argued. The charges include one count of murder with deliberation and one count of murder with extreme indifference for each person Holmes killed.

"The message is there is no message," Brauchler said. "This is just how his mind works... Hatred, unchecked."

Defense attorney Dan King painted a picture of a young man who showed signs of mental illness as a child and grew worse as he reached his early 20s. Both King and Brauchler repeatedly referred to a notebook Holmes mailed to university doctor hours before his rampage, and King conceded that Holmes is the killer.

In that notebook, Holmes detailed both his plans to kill people and his constant questions about his place in the universe. He wrote "why why why" across pages in which he considered using a stun gun disguised as a cell phone to incapacitate hikers.

"When you read it, you will realize that it makes no sense," King said. "It's nonsense. But to him, it was so real and so powerful that it had to be done."

King said Holmes is now heavily medicated but still suffers from delusions. He showed a 2013 video clip in which Holmes, isolated in a jail cell, ran headlong into the cement wall. King said Holmes believed shadows were giving him orders, and that President Obama was winking at him through the television, indicating his support. Holmes tried to kill himself when he was 11 years old, his attorneys say, and mental illness runs in his family.

"There's no rational explanation for what took place," King said. "He still believes this stuff today."

Jurors on Monday received their first glimpses of the horror contained within the movie theater as Brauchler showed them large photographs of the victims' bodies. Several jurors appeared to weep or choke up as Brauchler flashed the images out of the sight of reporters.

The court will make mental-health counseling available to jurors following the trial.

Aurora police arrested Holmes in the rear of the theater parking lot minutes after the attack. Holmes' demeanor and appearance have changed since the attack. When arrested, he had bright orange hair and wore a red jail jumpsuit to court appearances. But to avoid tainting the jury, the judge has permitted Holmes to wear a button-down shirt and khaki pants to court.

His hair has returned to its natural red-brown color, and he wears reddish tortoise-shell glasses and occasionally interacts with his defense team. Unseen by jurors, Holmes is shackled to the floor for security reasons.