Murder In America
EP. 203: COLORADO - The “Dark Knight Rises” Movie Theater Shooting (PT. 1)
Fri, 23 May 2025
In 2012, a violent crime rocked the community of Aurora, Colorado. A heavily armed mass killer had attacked a midnight showing of the newly released film, “The Dark Knight Rises”, and had slaughtered 12 people and injured 70 more in cold blood. But when the smoke cleared and investigators began to piece together what led up to the shooting, they couldn’t believe what they were discovering. - Listen to our new show, "THE CONSPIRACY FILES"!: -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5IY9nWD2MYDzlSYP48nRPl -Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/id1752719844 -Amazon/Audible - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ab1ade99-740c-46ae-8028-b2cf41eabf58/the-conspiracy-files -Pandora - https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/PC:1001089101 -iHeart - https://iheart.com/podcast/186907423/ -PocketCast - https://pca.st/dpdyrcca -CastBox - https://castbox.fm/channel/id6193084?country=us - Stay Connected: Join the Murder in America fam in our free Facebook Community for a behind-the-scenes look, more insights and current events in the true crime world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4365229996855701 If you want even more Murder in America bonus content, including ad-free episodes, come join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderinamerica Instagram: http://instagram.com/murderinamerica/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/people/Murder-in-America-Podcast/100086268848682/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MurderInAmerica TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theparanormalfiles and https://www.tiktok.com/@courtneybrowen Feeling spooky? Follow Colin as he travels state to state (and even country to country!) investigating claims of extreme paranormal activity and visiting famous haunted locations on The Paranormal Files Official Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheParanormalFilesOfficialChannel - (c) BLOOD IN THE SINK PRODUCTIONS 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What happened during the Aurora theater shooting?
All children are innocent, and James was no exception. His parents were completely over the moon after his birth. After leaving the hospital, he was brought back to his parents' home in the affluent neighborhood of Rancho Penasquitos, just north of San Diego. It's a community that provides everything you could want to raise a family.
There's the magic of nearby beaches with their towering sunset-colored cliffs and warm surf. There are miles and miles of hiking trails, biking trails, and even horseback riding trails that wind through the Chaparro Hills. There's even Christmas Card Lane.
a path of over 200 houses that decorate for christmas each year with elaborate displays that illuminate the streets with holiday cheer so that coupled with security and attentive parents james holmes was set up with a really great life in addition it seemed as if his parents were really compatible which is essential when having a peaceful home
Now, at the time, Arlene was working as a registered nurse, but she was also still a writer for the Imperial Beach Star News. She would write in the newspaper's life section. In certain articles, she would write about her husband's silly quirks and gifts they would give each other over the years. In 1987, she wrote a piece titled, She Has Found Him the Perfect Gift at Last.
It read, I have learned that cute but feckless Valentine's gifts are not the way to go. When you are married to a practical man, be practical. This year I played it safe. Bob is out of town this week on business, but when he returns, he's going to just love his new pastel flowered skirt and blouse ensemble. Arlene's articles were humorous, and they gave a small glimpse into their lives.
James would later describe his parents' relationship by saying, You could see the love between them. They showed it. And as a child, he had no problem doing the same thing.
When James was five years old, Bob and Arlene had their second child, a daughter named Chris. And according to his family, he absolutely loved his little sister. One day, shortly after her birth, he even approached his mom and asked if she could help him write a letter. It read, quote, Dear Chris, I love you, Chris. I wish you could play basketball and soccer with me.
I wish you could play light bright. You have soft, cute skin. You're a happy baby. I wish you could play marbles with me. You can when you grow up. You need four more years. Love, Jimmy, your brother. According to Arlene, right after the letter was written, James insisted on feeding her a bottle and reading it to her.
It was the kind of relationship every parent hopes to see between their children. And in the beginning, the Holmes family was so happy. Later on, when asked what he remembered about his childhood, James' response was, quote, lots of hugs. It was clear he was growing up in a good, stable, and loving home. But like with any child, there were some bumps along the road.
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Chapter 2: Who is James Holmes and what was his upbringing like?
he wasn't getting any data so he said he would have to quote make up some end quote now dr fenton was happy that james was talking but her mind goes to that email he sent earlier that week the one that had that weird symbol so she apologizes for the mix-up with his prescription and then she asks him what was that symbol you included in your email
But James doesn't want to tell her, so she pushes a little more. What was it? But again, he won't say. Dr. Fenton said that it took several minutes of going back and forth for him to finally tell her what it was. And he says the following.
The cues on the symbol were fists. It represented me punching you in the eye. Violence. Is that what you need to hear?
Dr. Fenton doesn't know what to think, but then he follows it up with this.
I know, it was dumb. I shouldn't have done that.
Clearly, there's something going on with James if he's sending symbols about punching her. So next, Dr. Fenton brings up his homicidal ideations. But again, James isn't forthcoming. However, he does say this.
You'd see it in a utilitarian way.
Dr. Fenton didn't understand. Can you elaborate on that? She asks.
You'd want to eliminate that. You'd have to see it that way.
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Chapter 3: What were James Holmes' early signs of mental health issues?
Look up firearm laws and mental illness. Buy body armor. Learn how to shoot guns.
He also decides that on top of committing a mass shooting, he wanted to booby trap his apartment. So he started buying explosives and more weapons. He bought a Glock Model 22 and a 40 caliber handgun at a local sporting goods store. Then he bought a Remington 870 12 gauge shotgun and close to 7,000 rounds of ammunition. And he didn't try to hide these purchases.
He used his real name, credit card, and email for all of it. He also continued writing in his journal.
The weak are most likely to perish in trying times. Likewise, the strong are most likely to overcome. Why do the average and strong support the weak? This is easily answered. In trying times, the weak will fall. They act as a buffer. Furthermore, when the weak die, the average and strong become weaker.
As James's arsenal of weapons started growing, he began taking the guns apart in his apartment. He wanted to get familiar with everything. He also started researching other mass shootings. He wanted to look at those to see what the police response times were and how much ammo he needed. He even calculated how far the Aurora Police Department was to the Century 16 Theater.
He calculated that they would probably get there in about three minutes. something he would have to consider. He also said that around this time, his homicidal ideations were getting worse. During his lab rotations, James claimed to have seen flickerings, blobs, and head juggling shadows. Now, some people believe this, others don't.
But one thing that we do know is that James's desire to kill was getting stronger, while his motivation to do well in school was worse than ever.
On June 7th, James failed one of his oral exams. He had never been good at those. Public speaking made him nervous. And in the weeks before the exams, he had been too focused on planning a mass shooting and he wasn't prepared. So he failed. Following the exam, he messaged that girl he had been talking to.
he told her he had flunked it then later that day he went to a nearby town to purchase a rifle two days later his professor messaged him letting him know that he was going to have to retake his exams but james responded with this dear sirs i regret to inform you that i will be discontinuing my graduate studies in the neuroscience program effective immediately regards james holmes
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