CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) – Jurors in the Colorado theater shooting trial took a virtual tour of the auditorium where 12 people were shot to death, moving past bodies wedged between rows of seats or sprawled throughout aisles amid spent ammunition, spilled popcorn and blood.
They got their most detailed look yet at the crime scene Thursday, when prosecutors showed video footage taken by an investigator who walked throughout the entire movie theater, zooming in on bullet fragments, bloody stairs and shoes left behind in the panic to escape.
The 45-minute silent video capped the seventh week of the death penalty trial of James Holmes and came as still more survivors testified about the searing pain of bullet wounds, failed attempts to rescue their loved ones and the sight of a heavily armed figure dressed all in black.
The gallery was packed with victims and relatives as prosecutors dimmed the lights and showed the footage. The courtroom was silent except for an occasional sniffle or gasp. But once outside in the hallway, many hugged and cried.
Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the July 2012 attack during a packed midnight showing of a Batman movie. At least 70 others were injured.