ARAPAHOE COUNTY — — Denver Post reporter Jordan Steffen’s updates from Day 61 of the Aurora theater shooting trial at the Arapahoe County Justice Center in Centennial, Colorad.
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Day 63
Prosecutors will continue calling victims’ family members to testify in the third and final phase of the Aurora theater shooting trial on Wednesday.
The prosecution plans to call 16 witnesses during this “victim-impact evidence” portion of the trial that consists of family members of the victims killed in the shooting describing their lost loved ones and the way in which the death of their family members has impacted their lives.
District Attorney George Brauchler told Judge Carlos Samour Jr. on Tuesday that he expected this portion of the testimony to be wrapped up Wednesday. Depending on whether the defense calls any witnesses, closing arguments could be as early as Thursday.
Defense attorney Tamara Brady said that they do not think the defense will present any evidence. She said she will have a definite answer Wednesday morning.
James Holmes faces a possible death sentence of life in prison for the murder of 12 people inside the Century Aurora 16 movie theater complex on July 20, 2012.
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8:57 a.m.
“Good morning, everyone,” Samour said to the court at 8:43 a.m.
Samour started the day by reading a letter he received from juror number 118 that said the juror’s son is having a graduation ceremony on Friday in North Carolina. The juror bought a plane ticket in advance for Thursday at noon in case they might have time to be excused and able to attend their son’s graduation. The juror would like to know the schedule for the rest of the week to determine whether they would be able to attend the event.
The prosecution and defense then approached the bench to discuss scheduling with the judge.
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9:03 a.m.
Samour then brought in juror 118.
“I wish you had let me know about this in advance so we could have planned ahead,” Samour said.
Samour said they are planning to work Thursday and Friday, as well, and he does not think the juror will be able to be excused to attend the graduation.
“This is sort of last minute. We had planned a Friday off next week. We’ve had basically every other Friday off. When jurors have given me enough notice, I’m able to plan ahead,” Samour said.
Juror 118 said she had been sending emails to the address originally given to the them during jury selection. The judge said he will try to retrieve the emails and that nobody was checking that email anymore. Samour said he will review the emails and then go from there.
The jury was then brought into the courtroom.
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9:11 a.m.
The prosecution called 19-year-old Cierra Cowden, daughter of Gordon Cowden to the stand.
Cowden attends CU Boulder.
Cowden said that much of the family came from Texas. Her dad attended Baylor University. She said her dad talked about World War I often. He played on a basketball team called The Rejects in college.
After he graduated from college, he lived in Austin, Texas and became a real estate appraiser.
Including herself, Cierra tearfully said her father had three other children. Two of them still live in Colorado, one is in the Army, and one is serving in the Peace Corps in Guatemala. She said all the siblings are close. She grew up mostly in Colorado.
Cierra said her parents got divorced, and she said she spent time with each nearly equally. She said at her dad’s house, they had a pet Labrador dog.
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9:17 a.m.
The court looked at a family photo that included herself, her siblings and her father and a guide dog that she and her sister raised.
The court then looked at a photo of Gordon with the Labrador dog.
She said her dog was always “enamored” with her dad. She said the only time she saw her father cry was when the family dog died.
Cierra went on a lot of road trips with her dad, she said through tears. She said they drove down to Austin a lot to visit grandparents and the rest of their external family.
She took a break to drink some water to compose herself.
They drove to New York, she said.
She described her dad as “very funny, charming, patient, kind, honest.” She was choking back tears, wiping at her face with a tissue.
“Sorry,” she continued saying to the court.
She said they played a family game called “drowning.” She described it as a “stupid game” where her siblings would pretend to drown and someone would be a lifeguard. She said her dad was barbecuing and looked up and thought one of his kids was actually drowning and jumped in with his clothes on to save her, and didn’t even take “his nice leather shoes on”
Her sister felt silly for making her dad jump in the water, so to make her feel better, Cierra said her dad continued splashing in the pool with his kids.
The defense then asked to approach the bench.
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9:24 a.m.
The prosecution continued.
Cowden talked about a time that her dad noticed a prairie dog on the sidewalk about to get into the street and that her dad put the car in park and herded it back because he didn’t want his kids to see the prairie dog hit by a car.
She described her dad as loving, dedicated, patient.
She described her dad waking them up in the morning with singing a silly, cheery song and that she used to dread hearing. But now she likes it.
She said her dad would make them breakfast and take them to church and that he loved taking them to In n Out Burger. She described a time that they went to Disneyland and that it was a “big deal” going to In N Out Burger.
Laughing, she remembered a “happy helper” song her dad used to sing to make them do chores. She said it used to make the kids groan but now it makes them laugh.
She said they all used to play all sorts of games together at the park. She said her dad was supportive of them doing activities in school.
The only time she ever saw her dad get frustrated was when there was traffic preventing him from getting to one of his kids’ activities like swim meets.
She said she enjoyed going on walks with her dad and that she’d let her think she was walking by herself and then she would look back and realize he was there following her.
“We were allowed to do things we were interested in,” Cierra said.
She laughed as she began to recall a time she felt left out at Elitch’s amusement park, and her dad made sure she was included.
The defense then asked to approach the bench.
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9:38 p.m.
Cowden said her dad liked to travel, barbecue, hike, go on walks and read.
She said her dad was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys.
The court watched a video montage of photos of Gordon Cowden and his family.
On July 19 of 2012, Cierra was 16 and her sister Brooke was 17. She remembers going to the Batman movie with her dad.
The last memory she has of her father in the theater, she remembers her dad starting to get up when the shooting started. Choking back tears, she said her dad started to move forward and hesitated and turned around to make sure his kids were following.
She said during the commercials, he insisted on Cierra taking the arm rest instead of him. She said she remembers everyone cheering during the Superman preview and she and her father looking at each other and laughing about the excitement.
After they left the theater, she went to Gateway High School and said she wasn’t certain what happened to her father but that when she was in the theater and she touched him, she thought immediately that he was dead.
She said after they left the high school, the kids kept using people’s phones to call their dad and they couldn’t get in touch with their mom. A police man drove them to their dad’s house and had to let them in. She remembers her aunt hearing about what happened and didn’t know the details and called asking if it was true and to check that everyone was OK. She said her aunt wasn’t scared when she called because she didn’t think anything was wrong, but her sister had to tell her that her dad didn’t run out with the kids.
When her mom got there, she was crying so hard that she couldn’t breathe, Cierra said.
“She was hysterical,” Cierra said.
She remembers being officially notified that her father had died.
“I just remember there was a complete uproar of people crying,” she said.
She said there was a memorial service in Colorado and a funeral in Texas.
“For me the hardest thing was putting my hand on his coffin,” Cierra said, sobbing.
The defense asked to approach the bench.
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9:47 a.m.
“I don’t even know really where to begin,” Cierra said, in regards to the impact her dad’s death has had on her siblings.
“I feel like we’re closer now, but we’re also farther away from each other now. I just feel like my family is broken,” Cierra said.
“I’m a mess up here,” Cierra said, in regards to how her dad’s death has impacted her.
She said she misses “just everything” about her dad like telling stories, making everyone laugh, his patience and
“I just miss him being my dad,” Cierra said. “He was just so present in our lives that growing up, the idea that one of my parents dying wasn’t something I ever even considered. I just miss him being there.”
Cierra was released from her subpoena and another witness was called to testify.
Jerri Jackson was called to the stand. Jackson is Matthew McQuinn’s mother.
“He would always wear the sunglasses on top of his head and call it his man tiara,” Jackson said.
“He was a very caring person. He loved life and loved it to the fullest,” Jackson said.
McQuinn was born and raised in Springfield, Ohio and moved to Colorado in November of 2011 when he was 26.
He was in a long-term relationship for 3 and a half years. The two were living together.
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9:58 p.m.
The two wanted to move to Colorado because they wanted a change of scenery, Jackson said.
Jackson looked at photos of Matt and Samantha, his girlfriend.
The court looked at a photo of the couple from June of 2012 when they came to Ohio and went to an amusement park.
The court looked at another photo from about 2010, “a classic Samantha and Matt picture,” Jackson said.
Jackson said the two did not plan on remaining in Colorado because Matt was unable to find a full-time job and that he was going to be moving home by the end of July 2012. Samantha was going to stay in Colorado and come home in September.
“They spent a lot of time at our house…they loved each other dearly. They would joke around with each other and if people didn’t know better, they’d think they didn’t like each other because they just teased around with each other, but they had a very loving relationship,” Jackson said.
Jackson said that her son would take Samantha dinner when she would have a dinner break at work and would do “anything for her.”
“She has lost her future because they were planning on getting married and having babies. She took a couple of months before she could go out in public,” Jackson said, referring to Matt’s girlfriend reaction to his death.
Matt had found part-time employment at a Target in Aurora. He was unloading trucks from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. in the morning and stocking shelves, Jackson said.
Matthew grew up with his grandparents in his life. Jackson said her father was the most important grandparent in her son’s life.
“From the time he was young, they liked to spend time…outside,” Jackson said, noting that they would go to a nearby reservoir and look for bugs.
“My dad proclaimed himself as Mr.Wonderful,” Jackson said, meant as a joke. “It would just kind of get people talking and joking around. “Then Matt picked up that he was Mr. Wonderful Jr.”
They would use it mostly when they were working together at a camp and that her father had his church make an official nametag for him when he greeted people entering the church named “Mr.Wonderful.”
“After Matt was killed, my dad never wore that name tag again,” Jackson said, and when someone asked about it, he would say “No, we buried Mr. Wonderful in July.”
Matt had one biological brother and four step-siblings, Jackson said.
His biological brother Eric were close and had the same friends, did the same activities and once they grew up, Eric went to Cincinnati for school so the didn’t see each other as much.
She said Eric went through a time where he “drank more than he should have” after his brother died.
After a year or so, he had a whole new outlook and is now focused on keeping his brother’s memory alive, Jackson said.
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10:19 a.m.
The court looked at a photo of her sons and their stepbrother.
Matt had four stepbrothers, Jackson said. Although Matt and his stepbrothers didn’t grow up together, she said they were close and especially close to stepbrother Chris.
“Even though they weren’t brought up together, Chris and Matt were just two peas in a pod and they just loved to laugh,” Jackson said. “They were just there for each other.”
She said they considered each other brothers.
She said for the first year after Matt’s death, Chris “didn’t want to talk about it at all.”
She said Chris didn’t talk about it until the trial started and that he had to make sure Matt was remembered.
Matt and his stepbrother David had a good relationship, Jackson said.
She said David has moved away and that he misses Matt everyday and that he talks about him often.
She said her husband Dave and Matt had a very close relationship.
“To them, it was not a ‘step’ and…Dave was more of the father that was there for him,” Jackson said. They worked on cars together, she said.
Jackson said her son’s death has impacted her husband.
“I think sometimes he gets more angry than he used to and I believe that part of that is because he doesn’t have Matt. They were even though he was a stepfather they were close,” Jackson said.
The court looked at photos of McQuinn that his mother described as “classic Matt photos.”
One photo showed McQuinn and his mom said he was always smiling and that his eyes “always had mischief in them.”
She said she and her son had a very close relationship and that they shared everything with each other and cared deeply about each other.
He called her multiple times before she had to have surgery to make sure she was OK, she said.
She was looking forward to her son moving back to Ohio.
On July 19 probably about 8:30 p.m. Colorado time, Jackson called McQuinn to let him know that he was more than welcome to live with them and he said he was going to live at Sam’s parents because it was closer to his work. He said he was getting ready to go to the Batman movie and that he had to work at 4 in the morning and that it was a three hour movie and that he would get an energy drink and go straight to work.
She warned McQuinn to be careful.
He said “Oh, mom, nothing’s gonna happen. He said ‘I love you, mom.’ And that was all,” Jackson said.
She said she was woken up about 4:20 a.m. later that night in Ohio and that there was a sheriff at the door. The sheriff said “Do you know Matt McQuinn?” and she said “yes.”
The sheriff said there’s been an incident and to call Samantha’s mom.
Samantha’s mom said the kids went to a movie and somebody came in and started firing shots and that Samantha is at the hospital shot in the knee but we don’t know where Matt is. They said they couldn’t tell Samantha anything about Matt because of the HIPPA laws.
Jackson said they couldn’t get any kind of news. The family hopped on a plane to Denver. The first time they got any news was when they got to Denver about 1:30 p.m. in Denver.
The family was alerted that there were bodies still in the theater. Jackson got official confirmation at about 8:30 p.m. that her son had died.
Jackson said they went to the hospital to meet Samantha’s family and tell them about their son’s death. Jackson had to identify her son at the coroner’s office because Ohio does not take fingerprints when you get your driver’s license.
Jackson said “He was there. It was my son.
She asked if her son had suffered and authorities told her he was shot in the neck.
“I told him that I loved him and was proud of him because he saved Samantha’s life and that we would take care of Samantha,” Jackson said she said to her dead son as she identified him.
At McQuinn’s memorial service, Jackson was surprised to see all the people that came. She said high school teachers, old classmates.
“All walks of life. Everybody he had been contact with. Every aspect, somebody was there,” Jackson said.
Jackson said her son’s death greatly impacted her.
“I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD, with anxiety and depression,” Jackson said, noting she went back to work as a claims analyst for 2 weeks and “could not handle it.” She has been on social security disability which has cut her income in half. She’s been in counseling for three years and is on four medications to help her sleep from the nightmares, Jackson said.
The most vivid memory Jackson had of her son was that he wanted to be the center of attention. He wanted to be the one that was proposed to and that he wanted to have a big diamond ring and that he was going to dance down the aisle at his wedding and that was the reason he had his man tiara.
Jackson said he did not have a chance to do that.
Samour reminded the jury before their morning break that they could not be swayed by emotion.
The jury took their 20 minute break at 10:17 a.m. The court then went into recess.
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10:43 a.m.
Court resumed at 10:43 a.m.
As a follow up to the record on juror 118, Samour said staff had been checking that email address and that there was one email from February 23, 2015 from juror 118 about the graduation.
Samour said in the email that juror 118 relayed that her her son would be graduating from special ops in the Army in July and wondered if it was a conflict in her being dismissed.
During the break, juror 118 handed the court a note that said not to change any scheduling on her account and that she realized the trial was an important issue and didn’t want any delays due to her event.
Samour said they would continue to have court Thursday and Friday, in that case.
The jury was then called into the courtroom.
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11:08 a.m.
Caren Teves, mother of victim Alex Teves, was called to the stand.
Caren said her son, Alexander Charles Teves, was given his middle name after his paternal grandfather. Caren’s husband, Tom, was the last Teves, so when Alex came along, they decided to give him the middle name of his grandfather, she said.
She and Tom have been married for 30 years. Alex was born in 1988 and was their first born. She had two more boys.
“Our middle guy Tommy simply adored Alex,” Teves said, noting Alex was a role model to his brother Tommy.
“They were so close for being six years apart,” she said.
Most kids at 2-years-old will pick a cartoon character or superhero to be for Halloween, and Tommy said he wanted to be Alex, Teves said.
Her youngest son Nick was born with special needs, Teves said. She said Alex helped him get to where he is today.
“Alex loved working with children. He wanted to be a counselor and obtained that goal. He graduated with his masters in psychology and counseling and as an intern, he worked in a school with kids who had a lot of special needs,” Teves said.
She said Alex would teach the kids that they are a whole person and taught them to respect themselves. Former students that Alex counseled told Caren that Alex saved their lives.
Caren said Alex was also a “big brother” to a kid who had some family problems during undergraduate college at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
The one time he missed a university sports game that he loved was to take his “little brother” out bowling or to an arcade, Teves said.
Alex loved working out, doing things like the Tough Mudder, which is an intense obstacle course that pushed you physically, Teves said.
Alex was a state champion wrestler in high school in high school.
She said Alex was laid back but had so much passion, too. She said while other kids would be running around and grunting and jumping before a wrestling match, Alex would be calmly playing his GameBoy video games but would still immediately pin his opponent in a match.
Caren talked about a time in Alex’s sophomore year of undergraduate college when he and his friends had gone on a road trip to California and the driver overcorrected and veered off the road into the desert. The truck rolled several times and one person in the front seat was ejected. Everyone was trapped and the only one who could get out was Alex, Caren said.
“Alex is fiercely loyal to family and friends and he just crawled through the broken glass out that back window to get help. He passed out in the broken truck, but he tried really hard,” she said.
A helicopter came to rescue them, and Alex rejected help twice so others injured could get help first. Alex spent two days in ICU and told his dad to go sit with the boy who was ejected because his parents weren’t there yet.
At a memorial service, a man came up to Caren and introduced himself as the dad of the boy who was ejected from the vehicle. He said, “You probably don’t know this but while my son was in the hospital, your son sat with him every single day.”
Alex sat with the injured boy and read to him and was with him every day for months as the boy recovered.
For graduate school, Alex went to the University of Denver for psychology studies and graduated with his master’s Degree.
While looking at a photo of her son, Caren said, “He always had this brilliant smile on his face. He just emanated joy, and this reflects that.”
Caren said her son loved and embraced everything in life except shirts and shoes.
The moment he could release himself from a shirt and shoes, he would,” Caren said.” It reminds me of a trip we took to Hawaii where we’re running late and trying to get to the airport and Alex has no shoes on,” Caren said, adding he didn’t pack any shoes for the whole trip.
Caren looked at a photo of Alex’s master’s graduation. Caren and her husband were in Hawaii at the time of the graduation, and Alex asked them not to come to the ceremony because “it was just a stepping stone” for him.
“I have no regrets with our relationship. We spoke or text every single day,” Teves said. “Thank God we have that relationship because I can look back and have no regrets with that,” Caren said.
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11:13 a.m.
While looking at photos of her son, Teves said “That’s my beautiful boy. Always with a smile on his face.”
Teves looked at a photo with Amanda Lindgen and Alex and commented that Amanda was the love of his life.
“He didn’t date a lot with his dating years. He was really waiting to find the person,” Teves said.
Teves said Alex loved Amanda and adored her. He said she was “the one” and that he was going to marry her.
“He was so, so happy,” Teves said, looking at a photo of Alex on a trip to Hawaii with Amanda, his mother and father.
Teves said Hawaii was a special place for their family and that they had lived in New Jersey the first 12 years of Alex’s life.
“When we finally took the trip there, the whole family just had so much fun and so many memories,” Teves said.
On the trip with Alex and Amanda to Hawaii, Teves said she was so happy that trip took place because it was “pretty much the honeymoon they never got to have.”
The prosecution asked Teves if she and her husband planned to retire in Hawaii, and the defense asked to approach the bench.
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11:33 a.m.
Teves said they owned some property in Hawaii prior to Alex’s murder.
They were so close,” Teves said, about Alex’s relationship with his father. “Our house was always just rocking,” she said, noting wrestling, rolling around and other “joyous” activities.
“We were very close,” Teves said. “Alex was six years older than his brother, so we had a lot of time together. He was pretty much an only child for six years. WE did everything together. I felt it was very, very important to be a stay-at-home mom, so I quit my job,” and her husband worked three jobs at the time to make ends meet, Teves said.
Teves took Tommy and Nick to vacation in Hawaii during July 19. Alex texted jokingly asking if he got a gift for graduating.
Alex sent her a photo of a dining set that he wanted because he and Amanda had just moved in to their own apartment. She said “Of course.” Alex went out later that day and bought that dining room set. She said she didn’t know if Alex would be able to get a ticket, so she wasn’t sure if he was going that night.
“He loved superhero movies,” Teves said.
Teves talked about the night of the shooting.
There’s a big time difference in Hawaii, Teves said, and the phone rang about 4 a.m. in Hawaii. Tom answered the phone and something sounded off, so Teves got out of bed and saw her husband’s face was completely white.
She said she knew something was “terribly, terribly wrong.”
Amanda was on the other end of the phone. She was with Alex at the theater and said there was a shooting and I couldn’t wake Alex up. I tried and I tried. I tried to take him with me
She said she didn’t know where Alex was. Amanda told Tom that she had “lots” of blood on her.
Caren remembers panicking and calling the police and getting no information. She called area hopsitals.
It was “hours and hours of torturous hours” until Teves knew for certain that her son was dead.
“The only way we knew he would not have made it out was if he was killed,” Teves said.
Teves said that since they were in Hawaii when the shooting happened, she can’t go back and plans to retire there were canceled.
“We had to sell the property and abandon that dream of retiring there. I can’t go back,” she said.
Teves said they had Alex’s initial funeral in Colorado and then had another memorial service in Phoenix. They estimated between 1,200 and 1,500 people showed up to the memorial service in Phoenix, including teachers, friends, parents, friends of friends and people Teves did not even know knew Alex.
Everyone wore blue jeans and a white T-shirt every single day to high school because it was “easy” and Alex was not interested in material things, so people wore that to the memorial service, Teves said.
Teves said Amanda is “beyond broken” and suffers from PTSD among “many ohter things.”
She had to quit her job and tried to stay in the apartment they just moved into together as long as she could, but eventually she had to leave that.
“She could not experience life in the way she had before,” Teves said.
Teves said Amanda will always be a part of their family. Amanda told Alex she wished she had a dad like Alex did, and Alex said “you can have my dad.”
Amanda asked Alex’s family if she could legally change her name to Teves, and Teves gave Amanda her blessing with “the fullest hearts.”
Teves said Alex’s murder has affected everyone in the family.
“Nick is very quiet about it, but I know he’s struggling. He misses his brother every second,” Teves said, adding that Alex helped Nick with so many things.
“Tommy is just heartbroken. They were very, very close,” Teves said. “Tommy wants to do everything he can to honor his brother and to stay strong. Just like that Halloween costume, he just wants to be like Alex.”
“None of us are the same person,” Teves said, noting her husband is struggling really hard.
“There’s a void. He’s heartbroken,” Teves said. “We’re all different.”
Prior to Alex’s death, Teves said she was having physical problems. She said she didn’t talk to Tommy or Nick about a possible ALS diagnosis. She said she told Alex what was going on, and he got mad at the situation and took his mom’s face in his hands and told her “You’re going to be OK. It’s alright. Stay strong.”
Teves was not diagnosed with ALS, but was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.
Teves said stress is the number one progression of Parkinson’s Disease, so it’s progressed “quite rapidly since the massacre.”
After the prosecution asked about Parkinson’s Disease symptoms and their progression, the defense asked to have a bench conference.
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11:49 a.m.
“It’s just pure agony,” Teves said. ” I did not realize that grief turns into physical pain. It hurts your entire being, but it also gives you physical pain. I’m in pain every single day. It’s God awful. It’s just horrific. I miss everything about him. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare that’s come to fruition,” Teves said.
Teves described Alex as “fierce, kind, caring.” If you were in a room with five people or 20 people, you would remember Alex,” she said.
“He made you feel good about yourself,” Teves said. “Whenever you left him, you wanted to be a better person.”
“I miss his laughter. My worst fear is not being able to remember that,” Teves said, through tears. “With what I have to deal with, there’s cognitive effects.”
Every day the first thing Teves does in the morning is replay Alex’s laughter in her mind, Teves said, so she never forgets it.
“I’m petrified I’m going to forget what his voice sounds like or his life sounds like,” Teves said.
Teves was released from her subpoena, and the next witness was called to the stand.
Lisa Childress was called to the stand next.
Childress works at Edwards Air Force Base as a teacher in a child development center in California. She is married to Shannon Childress. She is the mother of Jesse Childress.
“He was my oldest one. He was adventuresome, kind, stealthy,” Childress said.
She said there was a lot that they talked about, but a lot that Jesse kept to himself, too.
Jesse was 29-years-old when he was killed, Childress said.
Jesse grew up in California. In high school, Jesse’s mother described him as quiet with a love for soccer.
After high school, Childress said he painted himself into a corner and was flunking English. For eight hours, Childress ran away from with a backpack and a sleeping bag and a small sum of money. He then came home crying, saying “I’m sorry, I was stupid.”
After Jesse left high school, he came to his mom and said he wanted to join the Army.
He told his mom he wanted her permission before joining, and she gave it to him.
Childress said Jesse scored “very high” on the test to get into the Army and was able to choose a more refined grouping of career paths and chose satellite communications, Childress said.
After the prosecution asked Childress where Jesse went in his military career, the defense asked to approach the bench.
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12:27 p.m.
Childress said Jesse was a reservist in the Air Force for his last military position.
Childress said Jesse would roll his eyes in Heaven as she recalled the official title of his position: “cyber systems operation. He was the computer IT guy.”
He was relaxed but hyper and loved watching sporting events because sports were “big” in their family, Childress said.
Childress said Jesse was the oldest and wanted to help his family through his military service by helping out his younger brothers financially.
“He was basically Santa Claus,” Childress said, noting he bought Broncos season tickets and would “eat ramen” so he could pay for these things.
Jesse treated others generously, kindly, lovingly, and non-judgmentally, Childress said.
Childress said Jesse loved to travel and that he got to experience World Cup fans when he flew into Germany.
Jesse had three main goals he wanted to accomplish in his last year in the military, Childress said.
His goals were to go back to school, get a house and a dog. He accomplished all the goals, Childress said.
Childress said he was a generous brother to his two siblings. They were all competitive and making chores into sports.
“Our house was basically the neighborhood park,” Childress said. “Once you came to the Childress house, you were family.”
Childress said Jesse was a “bright light,” and if you were feeling down, Jesse would interject his “fabulous humor.”
“I miss his laugh and smile,” Childress said.
The last day Childress got to spend with her son, she was in Colorado for two weeks to “hang out.”
She was with all three of her sons in June of 2012 when they went to Manitou Springs together and then went to a Brazilian steakhouse.
She said Jesse wanted to taste all different foods, and they always went to new restaurants together.
The court began looking at photographs of Jesse with his family.
They looked at a photo around Christmas time of Jesse, herself and his dad.
They looked at another photo of her son making “one of his funny expressions.”
Another photo showed Jesse kneeling in a flag football team photograph.
“He always had a cap on,” Childress said.
She looked at a photo of the Manitou Springs hiking event at the Incline that Childress talked about previously.
They looked at another photo of Jesse wearing his Broncos jersey, “of course,” Childress said.
Another photo showed Jesse hiking with his dog, Max.
Another photo showed Jesse with “a mischievous smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes, and he’s on the edge of a cliff.”
Childress said she learned of her son’s murder when she got a phone call from one of Jesse’s brothers who had heard that Jesse did not show up at work.
His brother was worried that Jesse was in the theater shooting, but his mother hadn’t heard about the shooting yet.
Childress said she handles stress by just keeping on going and not worrying. When Childress heard it was a Batman movie, she said she was more concerned because she was “sure he was there.”
She said she didn’t want to panic yet and went to work and told her bosses that she needed to carry her cell phone in case of an emergency.
Childress got the call not long after that they were searching the hospitals for her son.
“It was a waiting game,” Childress said.
Childress said Jesse was not on any of the hospital lists but she was trying to think that her son was still alive.
“Later, it was dark. I get the call,” Childress said, adding that her son told her that Jesse had died.
Childress tried to be efficient and make calls to family, which is “how she handles stress.”
Childress said she preferred calling memorial services “celebrations of life,” and that there were many held for Jesse.
“Shannon’s the complete opposite of me,” Childress said. “I invite everybody in and want to hug the world in and hear their Jesse stories.”
Childress said her husband doesn’t want to talk about it. He wears Jesse’s clothes to comfort himself.
Childress said Jesse’s brothers are both very quiet, but the whole family remembers and celebrates Jesse by watching sporting events and “yelling and screaming” at sporting events.
Childress said her father has been impacted by Jesse’s death.
“We talk about Jesse all the time, especially when UCLA is playing and the Broncos are playing,” Childress said, noting that Jesse and his grandfather would always talk about sports.
Childress said she misses enjoying sports with Jesse.
“In our house, swearing was allowed for particular instances. They were adjectives as an expression of emotion. You were not allowed to swear at your parents or teachers or in that matter, but for particular occasions, it was appropriate,” Childress said.
Childress was released from her subpoena and stepped down from the stand.
The jury was released for their hour and a half lunch break.
The prosecution confirmed that they plan to have two more witnesses testify. Both witnesses were in regard to one victim, 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, and the defense was concerned that the jury would think this testimony was “more impactful.”
Prosecutors are intending to call Moser-Sullivan’s grandfather and mother.
The prosecution said the grandfather would speak to the video and the photos the prosecution plans to show.
Samour said he would think about allowing the grandfather to testify in addition to Moser-Sullivan’s mother.
The court went into recess as of 12:27 p.m.
— — —
1:56 p.m.
Court resumed at 1:56 p.m.
With respect to juror 118, Samour said that he feels he did not get to continue a discussion with her. He wanted to tell her that he appreciates her willingness to do that.
Juror 118 will be brought into the courtroom so Samour can thank her.
Secondly, Samour deliberated on allowing two witnesses to be called for the youngest victim, 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan.
Samour will allow both Moser-Sullivan’s mother and grandfather to testify because he feels both will bring new testimony to light.
Samour also said he is not concerned with the jury being overwhelmed at this point in the trial, which is always a concern for victim-impact evidence.
Although Samour said at times there have been very emotional testimony, he has been keeping an eye on the jury and feels they are capable of remaining rational.
Samour said he has seen “a couple” of jurors becoming emotional, with only one of those being a deliberating juror.
Samour said he believes that the prosecution has shown self-restraint in their questioning and the witness testimony.
Samour said he is “confident” the jury will follow his cautionary instructions about not becoming overwhelmed by emotion.
These are the reasons why Samour said he will allow both Moser-Sullivan’s mother and grandfather. He said he is not concerned that the jury will take away that Veronica is a “more important” victim from allowing two witnesses to testify about her.
Samour said he became aware during the lunch break that there has been another theater shooting in Tennessee. He said he does not know all the details, but he is asking the court if the attorneys would like additional admonishments made to the jury about not learning more information about this shooting.
Orman told the court what he read from news reports about the latest theater shooting. He said it seems like “a pretty different type of crime” than the Aurora theater shooting.
Samour said because this story started making its way into the news during the lunch hour rather than overnight, he wasn’t as concerned.
The defense suggested telling the jury to avoid the news as much as possible as they are nearing the end of the trial and would not want to delay proceedings.
The defense suggested reminding the jury to let the court know if they do see something or hear something that they shouldn’t.
Juror number 118 was then brought in so the court could thank her for her understanding about not delaying the trial further.
— — —
2:24 p.m.
“We very much thank you for your willingness to do that,” Samour told juror 118, referencing her willingness to miss her son’s graduation on Friday so the trial could continue.
The jury was then brought into the courtroom at 2:13 p.m.
The prosecution called Robert Sullivan to the stand. Sullivan is 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan’s grandfather.
“She was my only grandchild,” Sullivan said. Sullivan’s son Ian was married to Ashley, and they had Veronica in 2006.
“We lost our only child’s only child,” Sullivan said.
Ian and Ashley divorced, Sullivan said.
They had Veronica before they were married. They married when Veronica was 3-years-old.
“You establish a relationship as soon as she was born,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he remembers each phase of his son’s life.
“Becoming a grandparent is a special distinction,” Sullivan said. “We were able to incorporate some of the things we learned with Ian — raising him.”
As a grandparent, Sullivan said you’re limited to your exposure to your grandchild and you tend to focus on the fun things, Sullivan said.
“There’s so many memories I have,” Sullivan said. “I couldn’t wait to do some of the fun things. I wanted to interject some of the silly, fun, goofy things that make up a child’s life.”
Sullivan said his son had Veronica on the weekends due to the divorce.
“Within those limitations, we certainly enjoyed her to the fullest. Having a grandchild is such a wonderful experience,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he remembers going to the zoo with his granddaughter, going hiking, his son trying to teach her how to ski and sledding.
He remembers reading to Veronica and watching animated movies.
“The qualities that I saw in Veronica was just a sweet innocence about this child. She had a sensitivity about her that I could relate to,” Sullivan said, adding that he was shy as a child, and he saw that in Veronica.
Sullivan said he enjoyed picking her up “like a sack of potatoes” and running around like a “monkey man” and she would giggle “with delight.”
Sometimes, Sullivan said he wouldn’t be able to see her for several weeks, and Veronica would be a little timid.
He loved making funny faces at her to get her to lighten up, he said.
Sullivan said he took many photos and videos, and started to discuss how a burglary might have hindered those memories.
The defense objected, and the attorneys approached the bench.
— — —
2:34 p.m.
The prosecution had several photos for Sullivan to look over.
One is a photo of Veronica taken inside Sullivan’s house. Sullivan said she appeared to be about 6-years-old.
“Is that an accurate photo of what she looked like before she was shot to death?” Brauchler said.
“Oh, yes,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the thing that struck him about Veronica was her sensitivity, describing her as “a little timid, but very bright, very smart.”
“There’s only six years there, but you can see the seeds of great potential. She was a sweetheart,” Sullivan said.
When Sullivan thinks of her, he thinks of an “angelic” little girl who personifies a “little angel.”
“I don’t use those references as much,” Sullivan said. “But in her case, this was an actuality. It was true.”
Sullivan explains that a video the court will see was taken during an “elaborate” Christmas celebration of Christmas morning.
Sullivan said everyone really indulged Veronica on this Christmas.
Sullivan expressed that he did not feel the video clips were “enough” to show Veronica’s personality and that he wished more of the video could have been shown. The judge said the jury had to disregard this comment.
A video played for the court showed clips of Veronica opening presents on Christmas morning.
The defense asked to approach the bench after the video was finished playing.
— — —
3:00 p.m.
Sullivan attended a transition ceremony for Veronica who was graduating from kindergarten because her mother could not attend the ceremony on May 25, 2012.
Sullivan said Veronica could not see her grandfather right away and was looking around for someone she knew.
Sullivan said he was able to capture the moment Veronica saw him on camera. They showed a picture of a smiling Veronica.
Sullivan said he then took Veronica to get ice cream and showed a photo of the young girl eating a giant ice cream cone she held in her hand.
Sullivan was then released from his subpoena, and Ashley Moser was called to the stand.
Moser is Veronica’s mother. She entered the court in her wheelchair.
Moser said Veronica was born December 23, 2005. She said she had Veronica when she was 18-years-old and that she was dating Ian at the time.
She said Ian really liked the name Veronica, and that Moser chose her middle name, Hanni, because she had a regular customer at Starbucks where she worked who used to bring her girl names as suggestions when she was pregnant.
“Her personality was…she was very silly and fun and excited and happy and just fun-loving and caring and sweet,” Moser said.
Veronica was an only child, Moser said.
Moser said Veronica liked to draw and read and that she was a good reader.
“She had just learned how to read,” Moser said.
Moser said Veronica would play with friends at school and that she was a follower but that she was just caring. She was not a bully at all. She was just very submissive and wanted to follow whatever the other child wanted to do,” Moser said.
Moser said Veronica was very upbeat and very happy “all the time.”
Moser said Veronica didn’t like toys very much and preferred coloring and looking at books.
“She had a lot of energy,” Moser said, adding that Veronica liked going to the park.
Moser said Veronica liked movies and laughed as she remembered Veronica watching movies.
“When I would put on a movie for her, if you would try to talk to her, she couldn’t even hear you at all,” Moser said, adding she would have to turn off the television for Veronica to hear her.
Moser said Veronica was very independent and that she knew when Veronica got tired when she started hugging her.
“She was like my best friend,” Moser said, through tears. “She was my life.”
Moser said Veronica consumed all of her life from the time she was born.
“I didn’t go more than 24 hours without it,” Moser said.
They liked going to festivals together and free days at the zoo and the museum,” Moser said.
Moser said Veronica enjoyed people and loved everybody.
Moser said that Veronica was very excited to go to the Batman movie that night and that she was also excited about the prospect of being a big sister.
Moser said she is “very different” since the murder of her daughter, having to deal with depression and anxiety.
“I don’t know who I am anymore,” Moser said. “I was a mom when I was 18, and that’s all I knew how to be. And now I’m not a mom,” Moser said, choking back tears.
Moser said she takes medication for emotional pain.
Moser said her daughter’s death has caused her to be in an intensive outpatient program in a depression center because there were times when she did not leave the house and didn’t want to do anything.
She said sometimes the medications help her to get through the day.
Moser said she misses “everything” about her daughter.
“Her smile. Her laugh. The way she was just my little silly billy. She just always tried to make people happy,” Moser said, crying.
Moser was then released from her subpoena and exited the stand.
The jury then took their afternoon break at 3:00 p.m. Samour reminded the jury not to be swayed by emotion. He planned to take a little bit longer break and asked the attorneys to approach the bench.
The judge said the jury would be expected to return at 3:35 p.m.
— — —
3:23 p.m.
The defense tried to keep track of jurors who were crying during Moser’s testimony and noted that seven jurors were crying.
Samour said he only noted “a couple of folks” who were crying during Moser’s testimony.
Samour said he did get the sense that the jury was over-emotional, other than the people sitting in seats 20 and 21.
“I haven’t noticed that the jurors, in general, have been particularly emotional,” Samour said, noting the jurors have not been sobbing or excessively crying during testimony.
Samour said the testimony has been very emotional at times, but he is comfortable that the jury will follow his instructions.
Samour then did the Curtis advisement about Holmes’ right to testify in Phase 3 of the sentencing hearing.
He spoke to directly to Holmes.
“I need to advise you that you have a right to testify…” the advisement began.
This will be the last opportunity that Holmes has to testify in the sentencing hearing, Samour said.
Samour stressed that nobody can make the decision for Holmes other than himself.
“No one, not even your attorneys can prevent you from doing so,” Samour said.
If Holmes chose to testify, Samour said the district attorney would have an opportunity to cross examine him along with jurors having the opportunity to submit questions.
Samour said he needs to advise Holmes that he also has a right not to testify in the final phase of this sentencing hearing.
If Holmes chooses not to testify, then the jury will not be allowed to make negative inferences from that decision that could sway their deliberations.
“I choose not to testify,” Holmes told the court.
Samour spoke to Holmes directly about making a statement of allocution and advised him similarly to his right to testify.
“Do you understand that that’s different than your right to testify?” Samour asked.
“Yes,” Holmes said.
Speaking in one-word answers, Holmes told Samour that he understood his rights and understood the issue at hand.
“I will not make a statement of allocution,” Holmes told the court.
The court took a 15-minute break.
Samour said he understood that the prosecution and defense would rest when the court came back in session. Samour said he planned on sending the jury home and getting work done on the jury instructions with the attorneys today and trying to finalize them Thursday morning.
Samour said he suggests that the jury come back at 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
The defense said they are willing to stay as late as possible today to get the jury instructions finished.
The court will be in recess for about 15 minutes.
— — —
3:51 p.m.
In terms of the jurors crying, Samour said he has noticed two jurors who have gotten teary-eyed at least four times throughout the trial.
He stressed that it was not excessive and that it was not “frequent.” He also said that one is a deliberating juror and one is an alternate.
The jury was brought into the courtroom around 3:40 p.m.
The judge called for the prosecution and the defense to approach the bench.
“Your honor, the people rest,” Brauchler said.
“Members of the defense rest,” Brady said.
“Phase 3 has come to a conclusion,” Samour said.
The jury was released at 3:42 p.m. and the judge told the jury to return at 1 p.m. Thursday.
At the most, closing arguments on Thursday will be one hour per side, Samour said.
“As you know, we’re almost there,” Samour told the jury. “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that you comply with all these advisements.”
Going through the advisements again, Samour mentioned not discussing the case with each other, not communicating about the case with anyone else through any means, not contacting any jurors that have been dismissed, not talking to any witnesses, not talking to the media and not listening to any media reports.
“What I would request of you is that you avoid the news altogether,” Samour said. “I’m only asking of you to do this for the end of this.”
“If despite your best efforts, you inadvertently violate one of these admonishments, I’m asking that you tell the court you need to talk to me,” Samour said.
After making his admonishments to the jury, the judge asked the prosecution and defense to approach the bench.
Samour said if there is time after closing arguments on Thursday, jurors can start deliberating tomorrow. If not, jurors can start deliberating on Friday.
The judge released the jury at 3:51 p.m.
— — —
3:53 p.m.
Samour hopes that most of the work that needs to get done with jury instructions can be completed within the next two hours.
Defense attorney Kristen Nelson said she needs a break until 4:15 p.m., and then the court will begin discussing jury instructions.
The court went into recess until 4:15 p.m.
— — —
4:30 p.m.
Court resumed at 4:15 p.m. with the attorneys and the judge present.
Samour said he reviewed both the defense and the prosecution’s drafts of the jury instructions and that he has considered them in the draft they will be discussing.
The court began discussing the first instruction.
The defense brought up objections they made in the introductory jury instructions that were the same in these set of jury instructions regarding the language conveying that mercy, alone, is not sufficient to make a decision.
Samour said the jury can’t rely on outside sources to make decision in this case and again rejected this request.
Moving on to the second instruction, the defense had a few concerns, objections and suggestions.
The defense felt that the language in this instruction was redundant and conveyed contradictory remarks.
Samour adjusted the instructions and eliminated the redundant sentences.
The defense wanted to state plainly in the instructions that the jurors are deliberating about the “life or death of a human being.”
The prosecution said those words aren’t necessary and that the jury already understands that.
Samour agreed with the prosecution and denied those requests.
Nelson said the wording also made it sound like the jury is considering all of the decisions they have previously made in the sentencing hearing rather than the decision they are about to make.
Samour granted this request.
Moving on to the next instruction, the defense said they believe this instruction was altered in Phase 2 by the prosecution and that the defense still objects to that alteration.
Samour said he stands by his original request and denies the defense’s request.
Moving on to the next instruction, the defense said they have a few objections.
Nelson said the wording implies a group decision and that it’s more accurate to state each juror will be making this decision for themselves.
The judge changed the language to fit the defense’s request.
— — —
4:48 p.m.
Moving on to the fifth instruction, the defense said they have a few objections.
They maintain their previous objections about the merging of counts of murder.
Secondly, they would like to omit parts of the instruction they feel are unnecessary that remind jurors about the decisions that they have already made during the trial.
Samour said he likes this language because it puts things in context, and he rejected the defense’s request.
The defense then discussed the merger issue again and said certain language surrounding that did not seem “legally correct” and was “inappropriate.”
The prosecution said they are not sure what the defense thinks is legally incorrect.
The judge agrees, stating that he does not think that there is a misstatement of the law.
“I want to avoid a situation where the jury feels their position is minimized,” Samour said.
The defense is concerned that if a juror returns two different verdicts on one victim, that the jury would not understand what sentence they would be returning.
Samour said he disagrees and denies the request.
Moving on to the next instruction, the defense had a few objections.
The first objection is that the prosecution should bear the burden of proof and persuasion in all facets of the trial, the defense said.
Samour said there is no burden of proof on either party at this junction of the proceedings and denies the request.
The defense said some of the language is confusing and that they have alternative language that is simpler to understand.
Nelson said the jury never has to “choose” life without parole and that it is just the default sentence if there is not a unanimous decision on the death penalty.
The prosecution said this language is consistent with the verdict form which the defense also said they have concerns and objections against.
Samour said he feels the jury is properly instructed on this issue and does not see how this sentence is confusing.
Samour denies the request and leaves the language as it is.
Moving on to the next instruction, the defense maintains the previous arguments they’ve made in the past but has no further issue.
On the next instruction about not having to explain or justify to other jurors an individual juror’s decision, the defense said they have a few objections.
— — —
5:04 p.m.
The defense requests that the court make this instruction similar to the way it was phrased in the Phase 2 instructions.
Samour said he likes the way it is worded in this final phase of instructions better.
Samour said this instruction conveys that you don’t have to agree with other jurors, but that you do have to deliberate, and he likes it better this way.
This request is denied.
The defense is concerned that the jurors will be “pushed too much” to deliberate when they already have their minds made up.
Samour disagreed, saying that the jurors determine what constitutes deliberations and when deliberations are done and that he does not think encouraging the jurors not to deliberate is lawful.
Nelson then said she does not feel that there should be language suggesting a requirement that jurors have to discuss and that some jurors might just want to listen to deliberations and might not be as outspoken.
The prosecution is saying that the defense is requesting anti-deliberation language.
Samour said there is tension that exists between the balance of deliberating and making an individual decision.
The defense said they want to insert such language in case it is eight hours into deliberations and there is one juror who is being pressured and forced and bullied into changing their mind.
Higgs said there is no language in these instructions to help that juror out and let them know that their individual decision is OK.
Samour said he feels it is up to the jury how deliberations are done as long as they understand that it’s an individual decision and that they have to deliberate.
“What they do in deliberation is up to them,” Samour said, noting that during jury selection, jurors were selected based on asserting that they would not bully anyone and that they would not be bullied by anyone.
Samour denied the defense’s request.
— — —
5:16 p.m.
Samour again tells the defense that jurors cannot make decisions based solely on their own feelings and emotions toward the death penalty and that it has to be based off evidence presented in the trial.
The defense argued that the language they are requesting states that mercy, alone, is an appropriate reason not to sentence the death penalty.
The judge reads case law that the defense suggests supports their point.
The judge said that this case that took place in Georgia would not be proper in Colorado and that it does fully support the defense’s argument.
The prosecution feels that including the defense’s statement is not a correct statement of the law.
Samour said if jurors could decide on whatever sentence they wanted without thinking about the evidence “then what have we been doing?”
Samour said mercy has to have some sort of connection to the defendant’s youth or mental illness or something based off the evidence and not simply their own feelings.
Samour rejects the defense’s request.
Next, the lawyers discuss the instruction talking about what life in prison without parole is. The defense asked for a few words to be added to this instruction to emphasize that the defendant would die in prison if sentenced to life without parole.
The judge denied this request.
Moving on to the next instruction, the defense also asked for a few words to be added that was consistent with previous instructions.
Samour granted this change.
— — —
5:34 p.m.
The court then discussed the word “inflicting” when it came to sentencing the death penalty.
Samour granted this word change that was consistent with other case law.
Samour added language into the jury instructions to address the defense’s previous concerns that the jury might consider mitigation evidence as aggravating factors.
The defense said they have a “big issue” with this instruction. They object to the instruction being given at all.
The prosecution said they have no issue with it being excluded.
Samour said he would take it out.
During the next instruction that discusses victim-impact evidence, neither the prosecution nor the defense had any objections.
— — —
5:51 p.m.
The court went through several instructions that neither objected to.
Regarding the final objection, the defense maintained their objection regarding the merging of the murder counts.
They brought up the concern of inconsistent verdicts being rendered for the same victim if the counts were not merged.
The judge denied the request, noting his previous remarks and ruling on the issue.
The rest of the defense’s objections are about how the verdict form is laid out.
“We dont think it’s constitutional or appropriate” to separate it this way, Nelson said.
The defense feels there should be just two sections in the verdict form instead of separating it out between a unanimous and non-unanimous decision on a verdict of life in prison.
Samour explained his reasoning for his formatting, stating it was clarifying.
Samour wants to make it clear that if the jurors do not return a unanimous verdict on the death penalty, that they are returning a verdict of life in prison and feels that this formatting conveys that.
The defense argued that the jury is never making an affirmative choice of life and that is the default and that they could just disagree that death is appropriate.
Samour said that the jury understands that they can decide what sentence is appropriate: death or life.
The defense also said that this formatting suggests that the jury should be working toward a unanimous decision, which is not accurate.
The judge disagrees.
Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-954-1223, ehernandez@denverpost.com or
