CENTENNIAL, Colo.—The younger sister of Colorado theater shooter James Holmes became the first in her family to testify at his trial, saying Monday in an effort to spare his life that her brother’s eyes and demeanor were different when she visited him in jail nearly two years after the attack.
During a visit in May 2014, he responded to questions with one-word answers, Chris Holmes, 22, testified during the sentencing phase of her brother’s trial. And his eyes “were almost bulging out of his head in a way,” she said.
Jurors are considering whether James Holmes should serve life in prison without parole or be executed for killing 12 people and injuring 70 others in a crowded movie theater in July 2012. Defense attorneys say he should get a life term because he was suffering a severe psychotic break at the time.
