Mugshot: James Holmes, 24, appeared in court for the first time, on Monday suspected with going on a shooting spree at a Colorado cinema on Friday.
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The father of a 24-year-old man gunned down during a late-night screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado last week has described the moment he came face-to-face with his son's killer and how he said to himself: 'You're not such a tough guy now.'
Tom Teves, whose son Alex Teves died saving the life of his girlfriend after gunfire erupted in the cinema, sat in the front row in Arapahoe County Courthouse as suspected gunman James Holmes, 24, made a bleary-eyed court appearance and shocked the court with his dyed red hair.
Mr Teves was among scores of relatives and friends who descended on the courthouse to face the man suspected of murdering their loved ones, with some demanding Holmes should face the death penalty for his heinous crime.
Fighting back tears outside the court, Tom Teves said: 'I saw the coward in court today, and Alex could have floored him without breaking a sweat.'
He went on: 'Seeing him in court I said to myself: 'You're not such a tough guy now', or something to that effect'.'I didn't say it to him, they wouldn't let me near him. I was here today for my son, I honoured my son, he would have done it for me.
'Somebody had to be in the courtroom to say: "You know what, you went in with ballistic protection and guns and shot, you shot a six-year-old!" I mean give me a break.
'And when the cops came he gave up? You've got the ballistic protection on, take on some people who know how to use guns. That didn't happen.'
Alex Teves was among the 12 victims shot dead in the Aurora cinema shortly after midnight on Friday morning.
Holmes, pictured in court and in his newly-released mugshot with bright orange hair after he claimed he dyed it to look like The Joker, is accused of buying a ticket to the movie before donning ballistic gear and firing indiscriminately at the crowd, also injuring 58 people.
On Friday, he made his first court appearance looking disheveled, wide-eyed and as if he could not concentrate.
Holmes, wearing a dark red prison issue top with ‘Arapahoe County Jail’ written on its back, was brought into the court by two security guards with six more standing in the room.
In court: James Holmes, who is suspected of killing 12 and wounding 58 in a shooting spree, looked disheveled and despondent during his first court appearance on Friday. Holmes, who sat next to his public defender Tamara Brady, was watched by families of his victims.
Anger: Tom Teves and his wife Caren, the parents of a man gunned down in the Dark Knight massacre last week, speak outside the court after the alleged gunman made his first court appearance. Their son Alex, right, was one of the 12 victims during the gunfire at the Aurora, Colorado cinema.
Pain: Tom Teves and his wife Caren answer questions alongside Amanda Lindgren, their son's girlfriend, after the preliminary hearing. they branded Holmes a 'coward'.
Hurt: McKayla Hicks, left, who was shot in the face during the movie theatre rampage, attends court with friends.
The suspect sat in a chair next at the front of the court and struggled to his feet when asked to stand as the judge entered as if he were exhausted.
He looked straight ahead as the judge advised him of the case. Judge William Sylvester told Holmes he is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder and that he had denied bail. He added that the suspected gunman must not have any contact with any surviving victims or relatives of victims.
Holmes' lawyer Daniel King told the court that the defense was not yet ready for 'scientific tests', which suggests Holmes could be being lined up for a mental health test.
Throughout the advisement, Holmes sat next to Tamara Brady, his assigned public defender. While suspects often interact with their public defenders about the judge's address, Holmes sat silently. He was watched by relatives and friends of the victims, some of whom called for the death penalty outside the court.
Prosecutors said they are seeking the death penalty for the suspected shooter, a former PhD student described as an outsider who is believed to have recently gone through a break up.
Heartbreak: Alex Teves threw his body over Amanda Lindgren's when gunfire broke out in the cinema, saving her life.
Despondent: Holmes, who dyed his hair to appear like Batman's nemesis The Joker, looks down in court.
Alone: Holmes has been in isolation in jail since he was arrested in the cinema parking lot on Friday morning.
Bleary-eyed: Holmes opened and closed his eyes slowly as the judge advised him of the case. His public defender Tamara Brady sat to his left.
Court appearance: Holmes was in court to hear his rights read to him and for the judge to inform him of why he was being held. He will be formally charged next Monday.
Procedure: Arapahoe County District Court Judge William B. Sylvester read Holmes his rights and said he is not allowed to contact any surviving victim or any of their families.
Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers said that her office will decide whether to pursue the penalty after consultation with victims' families.
Speaking after the court appearance, Chambers said the decision will need to be made within 60 days of Holmes's arraignment. She said the formal charges will be filed against him next Monday.
Chambers added that first-degree murder charges can be filed if a suspect is believed to have 'extreme indifference' to a crime or if it is carried out 'after deliberation'.
She said that just because police found evidence at Holmes's apartment and arrested him soon after the killings, the legal proceedings against him are 'not a slam dunk'.
'In a case like this, the investigation doesn’t stop. It will continue right up to the trial,' she said.
Speaking outside the court victims' relatives said they were horrified by his appearance and called for him to be executed.
David Sanchez , 53, whose son-in-law Caleb Medely, 23, was shot in the head, said: 'He doesn’t look right, there is something demonic about him. He has these crazy eyes.
'I want him to get the death penalty – justice will be served when he gets the death penalty. Seeing justice is so important for me and my family. This has been horrendous.'
Corbin Dates, who was sitting in the second row of the Century 16 cinema and survived the gun attack, said he was stunned to see the suspected killer without his mask.
'It's a shock,' he told CNN. 'I did not expect taht at all. The person who was covered in black - I thought it was someone who works out, who has a history of knowing weapons.
He continued: 'He has no right coming to court and looking like he has a sad face. That's not something that's goig to be believable. Who are you trying to fool with that face?'
Legal experts told the Denver Post that Holmes's attorneys are likely to pursue an insanity defense.
And looking at Holmes in court, it is clear the suspected murderer, who stared straight ahead and blinked slowly, did not look quite right.
CNN legal analyst Paul Callan said it was unlikely he would have been given drugs that would impair his understanding of the judge's comments.
'My bet is that he was not medicated,' Callan said. 'His appearance may relate to his treatment in jail - we do not know how long he was interrogated for.
'I think you're looking at a very tired individual combined with what his normal personality might be.' Of his defense case, former Adams County District Attorney Bob Grant told the Post he saw little option but to plead insanity.
'You just have to imagine that there is something in his psychiatric makeup that will be exploited by his defense team,' he said. 'I don't know what the hell else they are going to say.'
Experts added Holmes is likely to undergo a competency test to see if he is psychologically fit to assist in his defense.
WAS JAMES HOLMES FAKING IT?
Holmes appeared bleary-eyed during his court appearance, looking around nervously then staring ahead blankly. So what was going on?
While his appearance may have seemed disingenuous or as if he was under the influence of drugs, experts believe there may be more to it.
CNN legal analyst Paul Callan said it was unlikely he would have been given drugs that would impair his understanding and was instead suffering a lack of sleep.
'I think you're looking at a very tired individual combined with what his normal personality might be,' he said.
Dr Joan Neff, a criminologist from the University of Virginia, added that his actions were consistent with someone who was suffering from a mental illness, such as schizophrenia. She said this would also explain why he dropped out of his PhD so abruptly.
'We know that certain types of psychoses tend to have an onset in the early 20s; if that's the case he may be in the midst of coping with that. He may not know what's going on,' she said.
Alternatively, she said the conditions of his jailing - especially for someone who has never been in trouble with the law - may have brought on an episode.
'Sometimes that can be an experience in and of itself,' she said. 'So his appearance is not very surprising.'She added that while he may be pretending to be mentally ill, psychologically, that does not fit with the character of someone who told police they had explosives in their apartment.
'I would expect him to be more cocky - and if that's not being displayed, they why?' she said.
Anger: David Sanchez, whose son-in-law was critically wounded in the gunfire, spoke outside court and said he wanted to see Holmes face the death penalty.
Culled from The Daily Mail UK.
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