AURORA | The Aurora theater shooting trial cost Arapahoe County prosecutors more than $1.7 million, according to the latest figures released Wednesday, April 13.
The exact figure — which stands at $1,717,939 as of now — will likely climb about a few thousand dollars in the final tally later this summer when prosecutors factor some additional costs, said Michelle Yi, a spokeswoman for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
The additional money will include some costs associated with corresponding with victims, Yi said.
The bulk of the costs for the DA’s office — about $925,000 — was for salaries and benefits.
The DA’s office has been publicly releasing updates on the total cost of the case periodically for several months.
The figures released Wednesday are just part of the costs of the trial and don’t include expenses for Aurora police and fire, court staff or jail costs.
Under state law, the public defenders who represented Holmes do not have to release their expenditures related to the case.
The case stretched over three years, from the hours after James Holmes opened fire on an Aurora movie theater in July 2012, until last year when he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, but some jurors balked at execution and Holmes was sentenced to life in prison.