CENTENNIAL, Colo. — On Thursday, like most days of the Aurora theater shooting trial, the heaviest testimonies came last.
The day began with Aurora Police Crime Scene Investigator Maria Pettolina on the stand once again. Pettolina, who began her testimony Wednesday, led jurors through more photos of bullet holes and impact marks from the shots James Holmes fired into the Century 16 movie theater on July 12, 2012.
The prosecution brought in two seats and several pieces of drywall from the theater, all pockmarked with holes from multiple bullets. Dry, scientific testimony like this characterized most of the day.
But during the court’s last session, the mood shifted.
Choosing to delay the rest of Pettolina’s testimony — which will address each of the 240 bullet holes she photographed — until Monday, the prosecution called three more victims to the stand. All were injured in the theater attack nearly three years ago. And one by one, they testified.
Carli Richards has undergone multiple surgeries to remove the pellets James Holmes shot into her right arm. When she first saw the shooter walk into the theater, she thought the gun he carried was a toy.
Heather Lynn Snyder lost her friend and coworker Alex Sullivan on the night of the shooting. When she raised her hand, the whole courtroom saw that she was missing two fingers. After she shooting, she said, “They looked like they’d been caught in a garbage disposal.” Snyder described feeling pieces of her friend’s blown up calf dropping onto her head.
Dion Rosborough went to see The Dark Knight Rises by himself. Once the shooting began, he tried to run but tripped over a body curled up on the floor. Lying on the floor, he saw the shooter slowly approach him. He covered his face with his hands and prepared to be shot. The shooter took aim , then fired. Rosborough’s foot and scapula were badly injured; he thought he was going to die.
Though walking remains a struggle, Rosborough stood up in front of the courtroom to demonstrate how the defendant had approached him. He held a wooden pointer like the shooter had held his gun and began to walk forward.
His steps were slow, meticulous and deliberate. The jury had no questions.
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Notable from today: James Holmes placed an online order for road stars, handcuffs and a large bandage on June 6, 2012 — the day before he failed his neuroscience oral exam.
Trial will resume Monday morning. The prosecution seeks the death penalty, while the defense continues to argue that the defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity.