James Holmes is convicted of ‘Batman’ movie massacre in Colorado and may face execution

Colorado movie massacre gunman James Holmes has been found guilty of multiple counts of first-degree murder, a verdict that enables prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the former graduate student who killed 12 people and wounded 70 at a midnight premiere of a Batman film in 2012.

After a three-month trial in which hundreds of witnesses testified and thousands of pieces of evidence were presented, jurors deliberated for about a day and a half, then found Holmes guilty on all 165 counts against him. The panel of nine women and three men rejected the defense’s claim that he was legally insane.

Before the jury was called in at around 4pm local time on Thursday, Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour warned the packed public gallery to refrain from emotional outbursts. In a hushed courtroom, he began reading the guilty verdicts and did not finish until more than an hour later.

Families of the victims who were in court smiled as one guilty verdict after another was read, clasping hands and clapping each other on the back.

Holmes showed no reaction. Wearing a blue, long-sleeved shirt and tan slacks, and tethered to the floor, he stood beside his court-appointed attorneys, looking straight ahead with his hands in his pockets.

Outside, Jansen Young, whose 26-year-old boyfriend Jonathan Blunk was killed in the theatre, told reporters, “I felt so much relief. I just felt closure.” Young said she was pushing for Holmes to get the death penalty.