On Sunday, a gunman opened fire on attendees at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, killing six people before dying at the hands of police. Yet the amount of coverage this horrific event has received thus far falls short of that devoted to the July 20 Aurora theater shooting nationally as…
As our posts about Aurora theater shooting jokes by comedians Dane Cook and Jeffrey Ross make clear, using the massacre to get laughs is dodgy business right now. But that hasn’t stopped the person or persons behind James Holmes Dies, a Twitter account with more than 39,000 followers…
A couple of weeks ago, we shared the terrible story of Ethan Hearty, a toddler who accidentally killed himself at his grandparents’ Utah home after finding a gun. Still no report of charges in that case, but accusations have been aimed at Iesha Paris and Darryl Hunter in a similar…
We’ve noted the proliferation of James Holmes Facebook tribute pages, which continue to spring up despite the shutdown of what had been the largest of them. The same thing’s happening when it comes to Tumblr blogs, yet these sites are getting more attention because of the memorable nickname by which…
Accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes has been a public figure for two weeks now, due to the worst possible reason — the murder of a dozen people, and injuries to scores more. Since then, there’s been a rising call for news organizations like this one to stop using his…
On April 1, 2011, nineteen-year-old Kenia Monge disappeared — and she remained missing until September, when Travis Forbes, who originally portrayed himself as a good Samaritan, led authorities to her body outside Keenesberg. Forbes pleaded guilty shortly thereafter — but it wasn’t until this week that his girlfriend, Kerry Humphrey,…
Since James Holmes fired shots into an Aurora movie theater — after purchasing four guns in two months and 6,000 rounds of ammunition off the Internet — heated gun control debates have emerged nationally and locally, with elected officials questioning whether stricter laws could have stopped this tragedy. Former Colorado…
The definition of “water sports” heard during the Olympics is very different from the one used by those with kinkier predilections. But participants in the latter know it’s good form to find a willing partner — and the woman on whom Timothy Paez allegedly urinated at a Boulder bar definitely…
Only weeks after the Aurora theater shooting, CU Denver philosophy professor Chad Kautzer has created a petition to stop concealed weapons from being allowed on state campuses. But the two ideas are not connected, he says: Kautzer has been contemplating the response since the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the…
Rollin Oliver, the 21-year-old accused of murdering Denver Police Officer Celena Hollis at City Park in June, was back in court this morning, where his defense attorney requested that the preliminary hearing in the case be postponed. His attorney explained that there’s a lot of evidence in the case and…
After the Aurora theater shooting, the Century 16, where a twelve people died and dozens more were hurt during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, closed, and there are very real doubts about whether it will ever re-open. Nonetheless, pages for the theater remain on all the major…
There have been plenty of theories about James Holmes’s actions in the Aurora theater shooting, including some that appear semi-plausible (e.g., reactions to antidepressants) and others that seem unmoored from reality (the assault was staged to promote a United Nations gun control measure). The possibility advanced by Father Dwight Longenecker?…
Yesterday, we noted that Dr. Lynne Fenton, the psychiatrist ID’d as treating accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes, was the target of stories about previous disciplinary action more minor than headlines implied. Now, however, Fenton is getting press more positive for her but potentially injurious to the University of Colorado…
The heated gun control debates that have emerged in response to the Aurora theater shooting that left twelve dead have reached elected officials at all different levels of government — whether they want to talk about it or not. Since Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, arguably the most prominent Colorado member…
All day on Saturday, July 21 — the day after authorities say 24-year-old James Holmes killed twelve people and injured 58 others at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora — Sergeant Cassidee Carlson couldn’t stop thinking about something the governor’s communications director had said to her…
The description of the crime scene and the suspect in the death of ninety-year-old Kenneth “Bud” Elmgreen are, to put it mildly, strange. But Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office representatives believe the case adds up to murder — and the person they’ve arrested is Elmgreen’s 53-year-old son and namesake…
On Friday, we shared with you recently filed court documents in the Aurora theater shooting. Among their revelations: Accused killer James Holmes was under psychiatric care prior to the assault. Now, however, that same document, which remains uncensored in our post, and in this one, has been altered on the…
Several years ago, Westword created the Mile High Murder archive to track area homicides. Since we began covering the July 20 attack on the Century 16, however, we haven’t included our reporting in that category, instead grouping it under several other headings, including our Aurora Theater Shooting archive. Our approach…
Update: Shortly after publishing the following item about Dr. Lynne Fenton, a CU psychiatrist who treated accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes, we heard from Steffan Andrews, Fenton’s ex-husband, and one of the people to whom she provided Claritin and other meds without keeping proper records, earning censure from a…
There’s one mug shot that will forever be associated with Colorado crime in 2012 — and yes, you’ll find it below. But before and after the dreadful events of July 20, plenty of other folks allegedly did wrong — or were found guilty for doing so. Check out the twenty…
On Monday, accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes was charged with 142 counts, including attempted murder allegations involving 116 people. Among them is Carli Richards, who was wounded in the attack. Now, Richards is publicly calling for Holmes to get the death penalty — and not by lethal injection…
As the Aurora theater shooting was taking place, the sound system at screening room nine at the Century 16 was playing the music of Hans Zimmer, who composed the score of The Dark Knight Rises. Now, as our Backbeat blog has reported, Zimmer wants his music to help with healing…
