James Holmes, the man accused of opening fire Friday in a packed movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, made his first court appearance Monday, giving the public its first look at the 24-year-old former doctoral candidate since his arrest.
With his hair dyed various shades of red, looking downward, then straight ahead, he sat without blinking for long periods of time. His eyes fluttered, then squeezed tight and reopened in a blank stare. Occasionally, his eyebrows arched over several days of stubble, giving his face a mournful mien.
But the man who identified himself to police as “The Joker,” dressed in a maroon jumpsuit over a white T-shirt, gave little indication that he was paying attention to the courtroom procedure that ensured he will continue to be held without bond. He was then led from the courtroom and back to the Arapahoe County Jail, where he is being held in isolation.
“The charges on which the court found cause included first-degree murder,” Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers told reporters outside the courthouse. She said prosecutors have a lot of work to do. “I would say there’s no such thing as a slam-dunk case,” she said. “We’re still looking at the enormous amount of evidence.”
Deciding whether to pursue the death penalty is a long process and would involve input from victims and their relatives, she said.
A capital case would require a finding of either extreme indifference or deliberation, she said.
