Theater massacre suspect appears in Colorado courtroom

James Eagan Holmes appeared in court for the first time Monday after he was arrested last week in the deaths of 12 people in a mass shooting at a sold-out movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester determined that there was probable cause to continue the case, telling Holmes he was accused of having killed 12 people and wounded 58 others early Friday in a crowded theater was showing the premiere of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."

Sylvester set a hearing on formal charges — expected to be 12 counts of first-degree murder — for next Monday at 9:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. ET). Holmes, wearing a red prison jump suit, said nothing during the hearing. He mostly looked down at the table under a shock of dyed bright red hair and occasionally raised his eyebrows in a quizzical expression.

Afterward, he was led away in handcuffs to his cell, where he is being held in isolation, said Carol Chambers, district attorney for the 18th Judicial District, which includes Arapahoe County.
Asked about the seemingly overwhelming evidence that investigators had amassed against Holmes, Chambers cautioned that "there is no such thing as a slam-dunk case."
"We will work very hard on this case just as we would on any other case," she told reporters after the hearing.

Chambers wouldn't say whether prosecutors intended to seek the death penalty. A death penalty case would "impact the victims' families for years, we would want to get their input on that," she said, and any decision could take months.