CENTENNIAL | Jury selection in the Aurora theater shooting trial picked up Wednesday after a lull earlier this week. Five jurors moved on to group questioning, bringing the total number of jurors retained to 65. Thursday marks the halfway point of individual questioning.
Judge Carlos Samour Jr. said he wants to have the trial completed before Labor Day. Two potential jurors have wedding plans on Labor Day weekend and expressed concern about the length of the trial. Samour said he expects to start the trial on April 21 or April 27 and be done by September 7.
One juror, a grandmother, was questioned for over two hours because of concern over her ability to be fair and impartial if a child were killed. In the end, she said she could be fair and impartial as long as a child was not sexually abused or harmed by a person in a position of trust.
Another juror retained for group questioning described accused theater shooter James Holmes as “evil.”
Jurors were released for financial and emotional hardships. One juror, a young woman, said she could not handle serving as a juror because of the emotional toll it would take.
Attorneys and the last few jurors were fatigued at the end of a long day of questioning. Court on Wednesday did not end until after 7 p.m.
Holmes sat quietly in a striped, button-down shirt. He read a printed copy of a book. Individual questioning will resume on Thursday and group questioning will start on April 13.