2 p.m. update
AURORA | Jurors in the Aurora theater shooting trial continued to hear testimony Monday about a mental breakdown James Holmes had a few months after the shootings.
During that November 2012 breakdown, Holmes spent several days at Denver Health Medical Center in the hospital’s jail wing.
A psychiatrist who saw Holmes at the hospital, Philippe Weintraub, said the anti-psychotic medications seemed to work well and that Holmes was in better mental shape after a few days there.
Weintraub said he thinks Holmes’ psychosis started well before he was rushed from the Arapahoe County Jail to the hospital in Denver. While Holmes wasn’t eating at the time, Weintraub said that wasn’t a cause of his psychosis, rather it was likely a result of it.
As for what caused the psychotic episode, Weintraub said he wasn’t sure. He said it could have been caused by an underlying mental illness that hadn’t yet manifested itself completely or some sort of trauma at the jail.
District Attorney George Brauchler pounced on that statement and said the shooting itself could have triggered Holmes’ breakdown.
“Could that kind of an event, coming to grips with what they’ve done, could that have an impact on someone’s mental health?” Brauchler asked.
Weintraub said he wasn’t sure.
“It’s hard to know without having spoken to the defendant about that,” he said.
Another doctor, Jon Holland, said hospital staff checked Holmes into the hospital under the name “Brady Arkansas” because of the high-profile nature of the case.
“They wanted to keep confidentiality as much as possible,” he said.
11:10 a.m. update
AURORA | When he arrived at Denver Health Medical Center in November 2012, James Holmes was in the throes of psychosis, a psychiatrist testified Monday.
Rachel Davis said when Holmes arrived, he was disheveled, bruised and had bloodshot eyes. Jailers said he had been smearing feces before being taken to the hospital, she said.
Doctors gave Holmes the anti-psychotic drug Haldol, she said.
Holmes’ thoughts were disorganized but he understood he was in a hospital, she said.
“He was still disorganized but he was able to participate in the conversation. And he wasn’t smearing feces anymore,” she said.
He said bizarre things like “when was yesterday, how long was yesterday,” and, “I pulled away from the people I knew and I drank their blood.”
Deputy District Attorney Karen Pearson said that in light of what Holmes was in jail for — he’s accused of killing 12 and wounding 70 others — the comments about taking blood aren’t that bizarre.
Davis said that could be true, but considering Holmes’ psychotic state, she didn’t think they were rational comments.
“I didn’t put much weight in his statements because they did seem vague and not necessarily consistent or relevant to the conversation,” she said.
10:05 a.m. update
AURORA | Two men who worked with James Holmes at a pill-coating plant in California testified Monday that the accused shooter was bizarre and didn’t interact with other people.
“He was odd, he did not act normal like the other employees,” said David Maldonado, who supervised Holmes when he worked at the plant in late 2010 and early 2011.
Maldonado said when he tried to talk to Holmes, Holmes would get very nervous and stand in a corner as far from Maldonado as he could in the small room.
“I was worried it was more than just shyness,” Maldonado said.
Eventually, Maldonado said he talked to the company’s human resources department about Holmes’ odd behavior.
Still, Maldonado said, Holmes was a good worker despite his awkward behavior.
Jose Sanchez, who also worked with Holmes, said he walked into the room where Holmes was working once and Holmes just stared at the wall. When he tried to talk to Holmes, he didn’t get any response.
“It was like if I was never there,” he said. “I was literally three feet from him.”
Sanchez said Holmes also seemed to struggle to understand when other people were joking around.
Jurors are now hearing from a psychiatrist who evaluated Holmes in November 2012 when he was in the midst of an apparent psychotic break.
Holmes is accused of killing 12 and wounding 70 others during a July 2012 shooting rampage at the Century Aurora 16 theater.
Holmes’ trial has been going since late April. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty; Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.