Opening statements in the Aurora theater shooting trial probably will begin in late April, , a judge said Thursday.
Judge Carlos Samour tentatively scheduled jury selection to finish April 14, with opening statements planned for April 21 or 27. A process of to find a panel that can fairly hear the case makes the earlier start possible.
Samour originally planned for jury selection to last more than four months, with opening statements coming in early June.
Prosecutors have asked Samour, once the trial starts, to block the public from viewing graphic images shown as evidence — such as autopsy photos or crime-scene pictures that show victims’ bodies.
In a motion filed this week, prosecutors say the images have little informational value to the public and would traumatize the victims’ loved ones. The motion asks that the images be blocked from people watching the trial in the courtroom and from the live video feed that Samour has approved.
Included in the motion were three letters from victims’ family members urging Samour to allow only the jury to view the images.
“Please protect the visual privacy of his body, which has been reduced to a piece of evidence for this trial,” the parents of Alex Teves wrote in one of the letters.
A copy of the motion was provided to an attorney for the news media.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
