James E. Holmes,
his hair dyed various shades of red, looked downward, then straight
ahead. He sat without blinking for long periods. At times, 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.
Obama: Colorado shooting 'an evil act'
Remembering the theater shooting victims
What were James Holmes' motives?
"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.
Holmes is being held in
connection with the Friday shootings that left 12 dead and 58 wounded,
and the subsequent discovery of his booby-trapped apartment, which
authorities believe he rigged before leaving for the Century Aurora 16
multiplex.
Authorities have been
tight-lipped about a possible motive in the case, and police spokesman
Frank Fania told CNN late Sunday that Holmes has been uncooperative with
investigators and requested an attorney.
Arapahoe County public
defender James O'Connor has been assigned to the case. The Colorado
Judicial Department declined to say whether Holmes requested a public
defender. A telephone call by CNN to O'Connor's office was not
immediately returned.
Holmes' court appearance will come a few hours before his family is expected to issue a statement.
Lisa Damiani, an attorney representing the family, told CNN the statement would be made at her San Diego office.
The family, which lives
in San Diego, issued a statement Friday saying, "Our hearts go out to
those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends
of those involved." It added, "We are still trying to process this
information."
Over the weekend, Aurora
Police Chief Daniel Oates told reporters that there was "evidence of, I
think, some calculation and deliberation."
Holmes received
deliveries over the past four months to his home and work addresses,
which begins to explain how he may have obtained some of the materials
used in the attack and those found at his apartment, Oates said.
As of late Sunday, at least 17 people remained hospitalized -- eight in critical condition -- in five area hospitals.
President Barack Obama met Sunday in Aurora with survivors and relatives of the dead, and thousands of residents gathered in the city for a prayer vigil that drew state and local officials.
Police clear suspect's home of traps
"I confessed to them
that words are always inadequate in these kinds of situations, but that
my main task was to serve as a representative of the entire country and
let them know that we are thinking about them at this moment, and will
continue to think about them each and every day," Obama told reporters
after the meeting at the University of Colorado Hospital.
"It reminds you that
even in the darkest of days, life continues and people are strong and
people bounce back and people are resilient," the president said, after
describing the recovery of some victims. "Out of this darkness, a
brighter day is going to come."
Though much attention
has been paid to the "perpetrator of this evil act," that spotlight will
fade, leaving behind just the good memories of those affected by the
tragedy, he said.
Aurora is bracing for
another emotional week as families begin making funeral arrangements. It
was not immediately known when the coroner would release the bodies.
It also became clear that more people may have been killed if the gunman's semiautomatic rifle had not jammed.
Josh Nowlan suffered
gunshot wounds but said he is happy just to be alive. "If that gun did
not jam, I am full certain that I probably would not be here," he said
Saturday from his hospital bed.
A law enforcement
source, who spoke Sunday with CNN on condition of anonymity, said the
rifle jammed because of a problem with the 100-shot magazine feeding it.
The military-style AR-15
had a separately purchased drum magazine, which can have trouble
feeding bullets into the firing chamber if the gun is fired rapidly, the
source said.
Investigators say the rifle was one of three guns used Friday by the suspect, along with a shotgun and a .40-caliber pistol.
