* Holmes also charged with 116 counts of attempted murder
* Makes second court appearance
(Adds details)
CENTENNIAL, Colo., July 30 (Reuters) - The former graduate
student accused of opening fire at a midnight screening of the
new "Batman" film in Colorado, killing 12 people, was charged on
Monday with 24 counts of first-degree murder, making him
eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
James Holmes, who was arrested behind a suburban Denver
multiplex minutes after the July 20 shooting at a packed showing
of "The Dark Knight Rises," also faces 116 counts of attempted
murder in one of the worst outbursts of U.S. gun violence in
recent years. Fifty-eight people were wounded in the attack,
some of whom remain in critical condition.
Prosecutors have said a decision could be months away on
whether to seek the death penalty against Holmes, 24, who made
his second court appearance on Monday. Colorado has three men on
its death row and but has not executed a condemned inmate since
1976.
Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers' office
charged Holmes with two counts for each victim - one for
carrying out the crime "after deliberation" and the second for
"malice manifesting extreme indifference to human life."
Holmes, who authorities say styled himself after Batman's
comic-book nemesis "the Joker," appeared in court clad in jail
garb, his hair still dyed bright orange but with the color
fading to pink in places.
He sat impassively at a table with two defense lawyers
through the 45-minute hearing but seemed more alert than during
his initial court appearance a week ago, when he looked dazed
and groggy.
The former neuroscience student spoke only once, quietly
answering, "Yes," in response to a question from Arapahoe County
District Judge William Sylvester. He mostly kept his gaze
lowered and did not look at a courtroom gallery packed with
members of the media and victims' family members.
The judge set a pre-trial hearing for Sept. 27, tentatively
scheduling a preliminary hearing for the week of Nov. 13.
Police say Holmes entered Theater 9 at the Century 16
multiplex in the Denver suburb of Aurora wearing tactical body
armor and a gas mask and tossed smoke bombs before spraying
moviegoers with bullets from three guns.
Authorities who rushed to his apartment following the movie
house massacre said they found it wired with enough explosives
to bring down the three-story building, and spent several days
dismantling the booby traps. Holmes was also charged on Monday
with possessing an explosive device.
'EVIL PRESENCE'
Pregnant survivor Ashley Moser suffered a miscarriage
following the shooting, but the loss of her fetus did not alter
the number of murder charges because the unborn cannot be
counted as homicide victims under Colorado law .
Moser, 25, was left paralyzed from the waist down from her
own bullet wounds. Her daughter, 6-year-old Veronica
Moser-Sullivan, was the youngest of those who died in the
shooting.
Moser's aunt, MaryEllen Hansen, said after Monday's hearing
that she found Holmes a "diabolical, evil presence."
"But he looked very sane to me, he really did. His reaction
looked different," she said. "When we've seen him before, he
looked like he was kind of spaced out or out of touch. But he
seemed very, very alert today and very lucid as to what was
going on."
Prosecutors, who are under a protective or "gag" order
imposed in the case by the judge, declined to explain their
decision to file the double charges, but it appeared to be a
strategy to offer jurors more than one path to a guilty verdict.
During the hearing, defense attorney Tamara Brady asked that
prosecutors turn over evidence collected in the case. The
defense is seeking a package that news reports have said was
sent by Holmes to a University of Colorado psychiatrist, Dr.
Lynne Fenton.
Prosecutors responded that they had not yet opened that
parcel, which according to Fox News contained a notebook
outlining his plans for the shooting, including stick-figure
drawings.
Holmes, a San Diego native, was a doctoral student of
neuroscience at the university's Anschutz campus before turning
in paperwork to drop out in June. Court documents filed on
Friday by defense lawyers said he had been under Fenton's care.
Police have not offered a motive for the shooting rampage
that stunned Aurora and evoked memories of the 1999 massacre at
Columbine High School less than 20 miles (32 km) away in
Littleton.
Authorities have said that following his arrest, Holmes
called himself "the Joker" and experts say his mental state
could play an important role in the case.
The judge set an Aug. 9 date to consider requests from
attorneys representing news organizations to unseal court
records and investigative documents. He added he would hold a
hearing on Aug. 16 to determine what evidence should be
considered protected between Holmes and his psychiatrist.
"The guy's a coward and he looked defeated because he knows
he's not the one with the power any more, we are," said U.S.
Marine Donald Lader, who was in Theater 9 at the time of the
shooting but escaped injury.
Police said Holmes was armed on the night of the shooting
with a Smith & Wesson M&P .223 semi-automatic rifle, similar to
an AR-15 assault rifle; a 12-gauge shotgun and a Glock
.40-caliber handgun, according to police.
An additional Glock .40-caliber handgun was found in his
car. All the weapons had been bought legally in the previous 60
days.
(Additional reporting by Dan Burns, Steve Gorman, Mary Slosson
and Dan Whitcomb; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Will
Dunham and Peter Cooney)