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Mother of Colorado movie theatre killer James Holmes says she 'still loves him' as jury decides whether he should be given death penalty Mother of Colorado movie theatre killer James Holmes says she 'still loves him' as jury decides whether he should be given death penalty
(about 7 hours later)
The mother of Colorado movie theatre gunman James Holmes has said she still loves her son as he did not choose to suffer from mental illness, a jury has heard. The family of mass murderer James Holmes has pleaded for his life, with his mother tearfully telling a jury that she still loves her son, who has “a serious mental illness”.
Holmes, 27, killed 12 people and injured 70 more when he opened fire inside a cinema packed with 400 people in Aurora, Colorada, during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight in 2012.  Holmes, 27, opened fire at a midnight film screening in Aurora, Colorado, on 20 July 2012, killing eight men, three women and a young girl and injuring 70 others. He was convicted earlier this month on 165 counts of murder, attempted murder and weapons charges.
He was convicted earlier this month of 165 counts of murder, attempted murder and weapons charges. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, with his lawyers arguing that Holmes was in the throes of a psychotic episode at the time of the attack. But the jury was unmoved and must now decide whether to sentence Holmes to death, or life without parole.
The killer’s lawyers argued Holmes was suffering from a psychotic breakdown on the night of the attack and was not able to differentiate between right and wrong. After sitting directly behind her son for the duration of the trial, hearing weeks of testimony from those who survived and the families of victims who did not, Arlene Holmes spoke at length in public for the first time on Wednesday, insisting that her son “never harmed anyone, ever – ever – until 20 July 2012”. She added: “I understand he has a serious mental illness. He didn’t ask for that. Schizophrenia chose him. He didn’t choose it.”
But the jury rejected Holmes’ plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and are now considering whether to sentence him to the death penalty or send him to prison instead. Colorado movie theatre gunman James Holmes
Prosecutors are seeking his execution. As part of the so-called “mitigation phase” of the death-penalty proceedings, Holmes’s lawyers showed the jury video footage of the killer as a child, baking with his grandmother and practising the piano. He was always shy and introverted, but those were common family traits, Ms Holmes said. “We never thought it was something like schizophrenia.”
In her opening statement, defense attorney Rebekka Higgs told the jury: “We don’t kill people for being sick.” When Holmes was a teenager, he was so wary of communicating by telephone that his mother decided to train him. “It was before the days when everybody just texted and tweeted and really didn’t call each other,” she said. “We would have a dry run and actually practise using the phone so he wouldn’t get too stressed.”
Taking to the stand, his mother Arlene Holmes said her son was a happy baby who did not choose to have a psychiatric illness.  Holmes’s silence only deepened in the days leading up to the massacre, when he broke up with his girlfriend and dropped out of university. He then began amassing weapons and ammunition, practising his shooting at a gun range and making notes on where best to stage an attack. He had always communicated with his parents primarily via emails, which grew shorter and less frequent. “I didn’t realise that his loudest cry for help was his silence,” Ms Holmes said.
Asked by Ms Higgs whether she still loved her son, she said: “I still love my son, yes,” reports CNN. Shortly before the shootings, Ms Holmes received a call from Dr Lynne Fenton, the psychiatrist who treated her son for anxiety during his time at the University of Colorado. Holmes had wanted to become a neuroscientist since he was 14, but Dr Fenton told Ms Holmes that he had dropped out of his graduate neuroscience course at the university’s Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. What Dr Fenton did not mention in the call, however, was that Holmes had ceased his treatment, that he had confessed homicidal thoughts and that she suspected him of “psychotic-level thinking”. If she had known all that, Ms Holmes told the court, “we wouldn’t be here today... She didn’t tell me”.
“Because I understand he has a serious mental illness.  He didn’t ask for that.  Schizophrenia chose him, he didn’t choose it.” When Ms Holmes was first told about the shooting, she assumed that her son was one of the victims. When she learnt that he was in fact the gunman, she said she was shocked that he even knew how to use a gun.
Colorado movie theatre gunman James Holmes Giving evidence, Mrs Holmes said her son’s psychiatrist had not told the family that he had been talking about killing people when she called about a month before the attack. Holmes’s father, Robert, and his sister, Chris, also  testified on his behalf this week, with Mr Holmes describing the killer as “an excellent kid”.
Fighting back tears, she said she “would have been crawling on all fours” to reach her son in Colorado had she known her son was talking about killing. Asked to summon his fondest memory of his son, Mr Holmes recalled him playing football as a boy, when the family lived in California almost 20 years ago. “That was probably the happiest time of his life,” Mr Holmes said. “It was probably ours, too.”
“We wouldn't be here” if Dr. Lynne Fenton had told them, she said. The hearing continues.
Her husband Robert Holmes told the jury his son “was not a violent person” until the attack at the packed movie premiere.
Holmes’ defence team asked his parents to testify to present any mitigating factors to the jury which could prevent their son being handed the death penalty.
Jurors will begin deliberating at the weekend as to whether any of the mitigating factors outweigh the aggravating factors already outlined last week. 
If they unanimously decide they do, Holmes will be given a life sentence in jail.
They will hear testimony from victims if not.
The killer chose not to take the stand throughout his trial, during which the jury was presented with notebook scribblings by Holmes.
Over two of its pages he wrote simply "Why? Why?" repeatedly.  In the notebook he also pondered the best options for a "mass murder spree" and choosing a cinema over an airport because security at the latter would be too tight.
Additional reporting by Reuters