The Latest: Defense in Colorado theater shooting to show graphic images during presentation
10:30 a.m. (MDT)
Opening statements in the Colorado shooting trial will be given by District Attorney George Brauchler for the prosecution, and public defenders Daniel King and Katherine Spengler for the defense.
Brauchler said at the morning briefing that he'll show graphic images during his presentation. He didn't elaborate.
The trial is taking place in the Denver suburb of Centennial, where it was chilly and drizzling Monday morning.
A row of TV satellite trucks sat outside the courthouse. A half-dozen TV camera crews and more photojournalists watched as spectators including former Denver Fire Chief Larry Trujillo arrived.
Trujillo's daughter, Taylor, was in the theater on July 20, 2012. She survived the shooting when a friend threw her to the floor.
Trujillo says his faith allows him to forgive. But he says that might be easy to say since his daughter survived.
___
9:55 a.m. (MDT)
Court is in recess in the Colorado theater shooting case after a hearing to clear up last-minute requests.
James Holmes' parents sat in the second row in the courtroom in the Denver suburb of Centennial. His mother, Arlene, took notes in a small purple notebook and Holmes read at the defense table. No victims' families were at the hearing.
Prosecutors asked for access to records of jail visits by Holmes' parents, experts and other people besides his legal team.
Holmes' lawyers objected, but arguments on that issue were delayed until a later date.
Opening statements are expected to begin around 1 p.m. local time, after the judge addresses jurors.
___
9:10 a.m. (MDT)
A hearing to take care of last-minute motions is underway in the death penalty trial of Colorado theater shooter James Holmes in suburban Denver.
Holmes is dressed in a blue shirt, khaki pants and no tie. At the start of a live video feed from the courtroom, he is seen standing behind the defense table with his hands in his pocket.
As in previous hearings, Holmes is tethered to the courtroom floor with a harness under his clothes, hidden from the jury's view.
To the right of the judge's bench is a table holding a roughly 4-foot by 6-foot object draped with a black cloth.
Among the evidence expected to be presented during the trial is an FBI model of the theater and photographs of the scene.
___
8:25 a.m. (MDT)
The parents of Colorado theater shooter James Holmes have been seen waiting in line to get into the suburban Denver courthouse where Holmes' long-awaited death penalty trial is getting underway.
Robert and Arlene Holmes of Rancho Penasquitos, California, have publicly pleaded for their son's life to be spared through a plea bargain. They called him a "human being gripped by a severe mental illness."
Shortly before their arrival, some TV reporters followed Lonnie and Sandy Phillips, the parents of shooting victim Jessica Ghawi, to the door of the Centennial courthouse, in violation of the strict ground rules for media coverage.
A woman in a suit came up and scolded them.
Opening statements in the 2012 shooting case are scheduled to begin Monday afternoon.
___
7:50 a.m. (MDT)
A steady stream of people walked into the courthouse on a gray and drizzly morning on the opening day of the trial of James Holmes in the 2012 Colorado theater shooting.
They were dressed in suits and dresses, and jeans and sweatshirts. About 10 television satellite trucks were parked outside.
There were no deputies stationed at the roof as seen at previous hearings in the case at the courthouse in Centennial, south of Denver.
Holmes acknowledges killing 12 people and wounding 70 more a packed Aurora theater, but has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His lawyers will argue he was too addled by mental illness to tell right from wrong.