James Holmes GUILTY of ALL 12 counts of first-degree murder

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Jury panel made up of nine women and three men deliberated about 12.5 hours following the 11-week capital trial of James Holmes
Holmes, 27, charged with 165 counts for killing 12 people and wounding 70 as they watched a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight in July 2012
Found guilty of 24 counts of first-degree murder on Thursday night - two counts for each victim
Additionally he was found guilty of 140 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of an explosive device
Holmes stood casually with his hands in his pockets as verdict was read
Holmes now faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole
Defense argued Holmes was legally insane when he opened fire with rifle
Prosecutors said Holmes is a cold-blooded murderer who aimed to kill 400

By Joel Christie For Daily Mail Online and Reuters Reporter

Published: 14:48 EST, 16 July 2015 | Updated: 19:48 EST, 16 July 2015

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James Holmes - the college dropout who walked into a midnight screening of The Dark Knight and opened fire on over 400 theatergoers in 2012, killing 12 and wounding 70 - has been found guilty of all counts of first-degree murder following the massacre, a Colorado jury said on Thursday night.

The 27-year-old - who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, with attorneys arguing he was mentally ill and not aware of his actions at the time of mass shooting - now faces execution or life in prison after his insanity defense was denied.

The jury panel - made up of nine women and three men - handed down their decision in Arapahoe County District Court at 6.15pm tonight after sitting trial for 11 weeks and then deliberating for about 12.5 hours.

Holmes was found guilty of 24 charges of first-degree murder - two for each victim who was killed - 140 counts of attempted murder - two counts for each person wounded - and one charge of possession of an explosive device for a gas canister he let off in the cinema.

Dressed in a blue shirt and khaki pants, with his hair slicked down and wearing reading glasses, Holmes stood motionless with his hands in his pockets as the verdict on all 165 of his charges were read aloud by judge Carlos Samour Jr. over the course of about an hour.

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Guilty: James Holmes (back left) has been convicted of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of 12 people. He is pictured here being read the decision on Thursday night at Arapahoe County District Court

Scene: This is the moment James Holmes (back left, in blue) was found guilty of 12 counts of first-degree murder at the Arapahoe County Justice Center on Thursday night

Convicted:The jury has reached a verdict in the trial of James Holmes, who was found guilty of shooting 12 people dead during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. he is pictured here in June 2013

Jury finds Colorado movie massacre gunman guilty of murder

Prosecutors - who called more than 200 witnesses to the stand - painted the picture of a calculated, cold-blooded murderer who hoped to gun down as many people as possible on the night of July 19, 2012, at the Century 16 cinema complex in Aurora.

Holmes purchased his ticket to the Batman movie 12 days before the midnight screening.

He walked into the cinema with his ticket, dressed normally, and then exited out a back door, leaving it ajar.

Then, about 18 minutes after the film started, he walked back in wearing a helmet, gas mask and protective clothing.

He set off a tear gas canister in the cinema that he had purchased online and then opened fire with at least three different guns - an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .40 caliber handgun.

After several 911 calls, he was arrested outside the theater.

Police officers at the scene testified that Holmes was nonchalant at the time of his arrest but then started to marvel at the aftermath of the massacre from the backseat of a police car as his bloodied victims stumbled out of the cinema, some of them crawling.

Authorities found other weapons and ammunition in Holmes' car, which was parked nearby.

District Attorney George Brauchler said the gunman was unusually intelligent but socially inept, and harbored a long-standing hatred of humanity.

Jurors informed Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. at around 3pm Eastern Time that they had reached a decision. The verdict will be read aloud at 6.15pm

Holmes' court-appointed attorneys said he suffered from schizophrenia, that since high school he has heard voices ordering him to kill, and that he was not in control of his actions.

The jury submitted several written questions to Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour during their first day of deliberations Wednesday, including asking for a white board and an index to the thousands of pieces of evidence brought up at trial.

No index was available, the judge said, but he did have sent over the board, markers and an eraser.

Holmes' trial lasted almost three months, during which the jurors heard from two court-appointed psychiatrists who concluded he was sane, and two working for the defense who found he was legally insane.

Holmes refused requests to take to the stand himself, but was present at the trial.

His parents, Arlene and Robert Holmes, also attended each day of the trial, but Holmes did not appear to acknowledge them once during the entire trial.

Grueling: The verdict comes after a three-month trial, during which jurors heard from two court-appointed psychiatrists who said Holmes was sane, and two working for the defense who said he was legally insane

Court is shown footage of James Holmes 'acting oddly'

Holmes distanced himself from his parents in 2011 when he moved from San Diego - where they live - to study neuroscience at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.

Holmes had already graduated with honors from the University of California, Riverside,

The couple's communication with their son was mostly confined to terse emails he sent them.

Prosecutors said Holmes held his parents at bay in a calculated effort to conceal his murderous plans.

Holmes told a psychiatrist following the killings that the suicidal thoughts that had long plagued him transitioned to homicidal thoughts after he broke up with his girlfriend.

He then dropped out of grad school and started living on unemployment, which is when his plan for the mass shooting properly started.

If the jury had agreed that Holmes was insane, he would have avoided execution and likely spent the rest of his life committed to the state's mental hospital in Pueblo, 100 miles south of Denver.

However, after the guilty verdict, a penalty phase will now be held, during which prosecutors would present aggravating evidence to make their case for the death penalty.

Murderer: Holmes is pictured in his mug shot (left) and during his first court appearance in July 2013 (right)

Strained: Holmes had a strained relationship with his parents and sister leading up to the massacre in the theater. His parents are seen here in July 2014

The defense team will argue mitigating factors against execution.

A decision to spare Holmes' life in the penalty phase would result in a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.

The sentencing phase is expected to take weeks and finalize around late August.

Both sides will bring a fresh round of witnesses and the jury will make the final decision.

Holmes did not testify in his own defense, but jurors watched video of some 23 hours of interviews conducted with him by one of the court-appointed psychiatrists.

Crime scene: Holmes, 27, was charged with 165 counts for killing 12 people and wounding 70 as they watched a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight at the Century 16 cinema in Aurora, Colorado

Paying tribute: Actor Christian Bale, star of The Dark Knight rises, visits the memorial across the street from the Century 16 movie theater on July 24, 2012 in Aurora with his wife, days after the mass shooting

Sandy Phillips, whose daughter Jessica Ghawi was killed in the movie theatre, carries a T-shirt memorializing the twelve people killed in the attack, outside the courthouse on Tuesday

PORTRAIT OF A MASS MURDERER: THE LIFE OF JAMES HOLMES

December 13, 1987 - Holmes is born in San Diego County to Robert and Arlene Holmes.

2006 - Graduates from Westview High School in San Diego.

2010 - Graduates from the University of California, Riverside, with a B.S. in neuroscience.

2011 - Holmes enrolls in the Ph.D. neuroscience program at the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus in the Denver suburb of Aurora.

May 10, 2012 - Orders tear gas canisters online, according to prosecutors. Over the next few weeks, he also buys two handguns, a shotgun, an assault rifle, 6,295 rounds of ammunition and body armor, either in person or online, prosecutors say.

June 10, 2012 - Files paperwork to withdraw from the neuroscience program but doesn't say why.

Evil or insane?: Holmes has never denied he was behind the killings, but said he is mentally ill

June 11, 2012 - Meets with his psychiatrist, Lynne Fenton of the University of Colorado. Fenton tells a campus police officer Holmes has made homicidal statements and sent her threatening text messages.

July 20, 2012 - Holmes slips through a back door of the Century 16 theater in Aurora, where about 420 people are watching a midnight showing of a Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," and opens fire. Ten people die at the scene, two die at hospitals, and 70 are injured. Officers find Holmes leaning against his car behind the theater and arrest him without a struggle. Later, police find booby-trapped bombs and a Batman mask at Holmes' apartment. The bombs are defused.

July 23, 2012 - Holmes makes his first court appearance, his hair dyed orange-red, face unshaven, eyes appearing dazed.

Oct. 11, 2012 - Prosecutors finalize the charges against Holmes: 24 counts of murder and 140 counts of attempted murder, two counts for each person killed and two for each person injured. He's also charged with possession of explosives and committing a crime of violence.

Nov. 15, 2012 - Holmes is taken to a hospital psychiatric ward and held for several days, sometimes in restraints, because he was "in immediate need of a psychiatric evaluation," according to his attorneys.

Jan. 10, 2013 - The judge rules the evidence is sufficient to put Holmes on trial.

March 27, 2013 - Holmes' attorneys say he's willing to plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. Prosecutors later reject the plea offer, saying it isn't genuine and that Holmes is sane.

April 1, 2013 - Prosecutors say they'll seek the death penalty.

May 13, 2013 - Defense lawyers tell the judge Holmes wants to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

June 4, 2013 - The judge accepts Holmes' insanity plea and orders Holmes to undergo a mental evaluation.

July 10, 2013 - Holmes' lawyers acknowledge he was the shooter but say he was "in the throes of a psychotic episode."

Nov. 7, 2014 - The judge says he'll issue 9,000 jury summonses, believed to be the largest number ever for a U.S. trial.

Jan. 20, 2015 - Jury selection begins.

April 14, 2015 - Twelve jurors and 12 alternates are chosen to hear the case.

April 27, 2015 - Prosecutors and defense lawyers are scheduled to make their opening statements.

May 26 - Holmes' diary that he mailed to his psychiatrist hours before the shooting - detailing his attack plans - presented as evidence.

May 27 - Dr. William Reid, a court-appointed psychiatrist who interviewed Holmes for about 22 hours, testified that Holmes was mentally ill but legally sane.

May 29 - Videos from sessions with Dr. Reid played in court. Holmes tells how his suicidal thoughts transitioned to homicidal after breaking up with his girlfriend

June 8 - Second psychiatrist, Jeffrey Metzner, testified Holmes was mentally ill but legally sane

June 19 - Prosecution called as their last witness Ashley Moser, the mother of slain victim Veronica Moser-Sullivan

July 10 - Defense show videos of Holmes in his cell slamming his head against the wall and then rested their case

July 15 - Jury deliberations begin

July 16, 2015 - Jury Holmes guilty of 12 charges first-degree murder

source: Associated Press