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James Holmes guilty of murder in Aurora movie shooting

By Danielle Haynes
Accused movie theater shooter James Holmes shown in a 2012 mugshot. Photo courtesy of Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office
Accused movie theater shooter James Holmes shown in a 2012 mugshot. Photo courtesy of Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office

LITTLETON, Colo., July 16 (UPI) -- A Colorado jury has found James Holmes guilty of all 165 charges he faced, along with 24 counts of first-degree murder for a shooting at an Aurora movie theater in 2012.

The verdict was read at 4 p.m. local time Thursday at the Arapahoe County, Colo., courthouse, the Denver Post reported. He faced 165 charges for killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others.

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Holmes faced two counts of first-degree murder for each of the 12 people he killed. His guilty verdicts make him eligible for the death penalty.

The jury deliberated a day and a half before reaching its verdict.

Holmes' trial started April 27, three years after the shooting, which also resulted in injuries to dozens of people. He is accused of opening fire in July 2012 during a midnight showing of The Dark Night Rises at the Century Aurora 16 Multiplex Theater.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in this case, making the trial legally complicated. Holmes pleaded not guilty to 165 charges by reason of insanity. His motives for the shooting remain unknown. Friends and classmates previously described him as increasingly detached.

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