A prosecutor in the United States broke down in court on Tuesday, saying the gunman who killed a dozen people in a Colorado movie theater had nothing but "mass murder" on his mind when went on the rampage.
District Attorney George Brauchler said 400 people went to a midnight premiere of a Batman film in the Denver suburb of Aurora, happy and hopeful of being entertained by a tale of a black-clad hero fighting for justice.
"But that's not what happened," Brauchler said. "Instead, a different figure appeared by the screen dressed all in black, and he came there with one thing in his heart and in his mind - and that was mass murder."
His remarks came in closing arguments in the trial of James Holmes, as jurors prepare to decide if he was legally insane or a calculating mass murderer.
Prosecutors and the defence were allotted two hours each to present their case by Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour, after testimony in the almost three-month-long capital trial ended last week.
It was the last time attorneys address the jury before the panel begins deliberating the fate of the 27-year-old Californian on Wednesday.
Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, faces 165 counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and explosive charges stemming from the July 20, 2012 rampage.
When the shooting stopped, 12 moviegoers lay dead and 70 were either wounded by gunfire or injured fleeing the theater. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Holmes if he is convicted.
EMOTIONAL SUBMISSION
Pointing at Holmes and calling him "this guy," Brauchler said he packed "overwhelming firepower," including a semi-automatic rifle and steel-penetrating rounds, and that he used tear gas to create a "kill box" in the theater.
At one point, as the prosecutor showed photos of victims on a courtroom television, his voice broke. "Forgive me," Brauchler said, removing his glasses and wiping his eyes. "I thought I could do this without ... Oh man."
There was another emotional moment when Brauchler showed a photo of Holmes' youngest victim, 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, while playing audio from a 911 call with gunfire in the background. "That guy was sane beyond reasonable doubt. He needs to be held accountable for what he did," Brauchler said.
So many victims and their relatives wanted to attend the closing arguments, prosecutors had to cycle them in and out of the packed, windowless courtroom in groups.
The prosecution called more than 200 witnesses during the trial, interspersing testimony from wounded survivors with others who detailed his purchases of weapons, body armor, and the bomb-making materials he used to booby-trap his apartment.
They also called two court-appointed psychiatrists who testified that while severely mentally ill, the one-time neuroscience graduate student was sane when he plotted and carried out the massacre.
The defence centered on two hired psychiatrists who both concluded Holmes is delusional and schizophrenic, that he heard voices commanding him to kill to enhance his "self worth," and cannot be held legally accountable.
Holmes has sat impassively through 11 weeks of testimony, occasionally turning to watch videos on a courtroom television. He has rarely interacted with his lawyers or acknowledged his parents, who have been in court for most of the trial.
