Victims & Timeline James Haubenschild: January 4, 1984 (wounded) Kimberly Haubenschild: January 4, 1984 (wounded) Donna Dixon (nee Holm), 28: January 4, 1984 (wounded) Patricia Louise Smith, 50: Cesar J. Ponce, 19 . The disclosure was made at a court hearing in Centennial, Colorado, where news media organizations asked a judge to unseal court documents in the case. 57-yr old. [51][52] Seventy were hit by bullets, and were reported by mainstream news as the most victims of any mass shooting in United States history. AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) Update 7:16 p.m. Police said 39-year-old Nicholas Walker, who was wanted on attempted second-degree murder, was arrested without incident. [22][23] He shot first to the back of the room, and then toward people in the aisles. [38] The police interviewed more than 200 witnesses of the shooting. When officers responded to the call and went by the home in the 1500 block of South Evanston Street, they saw the garage door partially open and lights on in the home, according to the affidavit. Holmes chose not to testify. Susan Sarkauskas. Most egregious was the 2019 police murder of 23-year-old Elijah McClain, a black man who died after . COLORADO SPRINGS He remembers the hum of the vacuum cleaner, the sound of closing time at the Aurora Chuck E. Cheese restaurant where he worked in 1993.. He said they picked up some tequila and went back to the homehe, his mother and his sister had just moved to in Aurora. As it turns out, Ewing was imprisoned just months after the killings, after he beat a couple nearly to death with an ax handle in Nevada in August 1984 and was sentenced to 40 years in prison for attempted murder. Constance Bennett, the mother of murder victim Bruce Bennett, is questioned defense attorney Katherine Powers Spengler during Alex Ewing's murder trial, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in an Arapahoe County Court in Centennial, Colo. Ewing is accused of killing Bruce and Debra Bennett and their 7-year-old daughter Melissa in Aurora in January 1984. They collected a piece of carpet from under Melissas body, and a comforter on the girls bed. Now, nearly four decades after the familys slaying part of a spree of attacks by the so-called Hammer Killer duringa 12-day span that spread fear across the Denver region a suspect is finally being brought to trial. [171], A grassroots community center, Aurora Strong Resilience Center, was established by community leaders, elected officials, and mental health professionals, as a response to the shooting. [96][97], On July 9, Judge Carlos Samour asked Holmes if he would testify in court, and advised him of his rights to do so. [132] Some television advertisements for the film were also canceled. But I think there has to be some kind of justice. [50], Twelve fatalities were reported along with 70 injuries. Reports state that according to the 1984 sentencing law, although Alex Ewing was serving up to 40 years in prison after his initial arrest in Nevada that year, he could have been eligible for parole after 20 years. [71], On November 16, 2012, the Aurora Victim Relief Fund announced that each family of the dead would receive $220,000. independent local journalism in Denver. Investigators allege Ewing entered the home, perhaps through an open garage door, and killed Bruce, who he encountered just outside the master bedroom, perhaps because Bruce had gotten up to investigate a noise, or to chase Ewing out of the bedroom. . He then dragged Marisol into the bedroom with Estancia and shot them. [151], Soon after the shooting, police departments and cinemas across the United States and around the world increased security for fear of copycat incidents. Twelve people were killed and 70 injured. That separate case is set for trial in October. It isnt. [106] The appeal for clemency was rejected on August 3 under the basis that mitigating factors such as mental illness did not outweigh aggravating factors such as the number of casualties in the massacre. [76] Colorado State District Court Judge William B. Sylvester, who was the trial judge overseeing the case, placed a gag order on lawyers and law enforcement, sealing the court file and barring the University of Colorado from releasing public records relating to Holmes' year at the school. [86], The trial started on April 27, 2015. Aurora's highly critical review did not . [115][116] On July 22, President Obama met with victims and local and state officials and gave a nationally televised speech from Aurora. All I want in my older years is some peace and quiet and some tranquility of some kind.. [182][183], A memorial to the victims of the attack was installed near Aurora Municipal Center, some 850m (929.57yd) from the theater, and dedicated on July 19, 2018, one day before the sixth anniversary of the attack. Prosecutors offered their case as to why the trial should proceed, and defense lawyers argued that it should not. About 20 minutes into the film, he left theater 9 through an emergency exit door beside the movie screen, with direct access to the lightly used parking area at the back of the complex, while propping the door slightly open with a plastic tablecloth holder. Your login session has expired. But after Connie left that night, someone armed with a hammer entered the familys Aurora home and killed Melissa, her mother Debra Bennett, 26, and her father Bruce Bennett, 27. [155][156] AMC Theatres announced it would "not allow any guests into our theatres in costumes that make other guests feel uncomfortable and we will not permit face-covering masks or fake weapons inside our buildings". Defense counsel sought and was granted a mental competence examination, which led to the first prosecution attempt ending in a mistrial. He could have been eligible for parole this year, if DNA had not connected him to the Colorado killings. [138] Members of the Denver Broncos also called or visited individuals at the hospitals. How Should RTD Deal With the Drug Problem on Trains? [9], Holmes went to his car (which he had parked near the exit door), changed into protective clothing, and retrieved his guns. [107][108], Holmes was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on August 7 after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision over sentencing him to death. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families. [79], A judge ruled on August 30 that a notebook written by Holmes, in which he allegedly described a violent attack, was covered by physicianpatient privilege because it was addressed to his psychiatrist. Alex Christopher Ewing has been in a Nevada Prison for most of the past 34 yrs for a similar . [99], On July 16, after jury deliberations, Holmes was found guilty of 24 counts of first-degree murder, 140 counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of possessing illegal explosives, and a sentence enhancement of a crime of violence. People who live in Aurora generally consider the southeast part of the city to be the safest for this type of crime. OJ Simpson / The Glove Didn't Fit Chapter 17: 14 . Unfortunately, yes. AURORA | Police are trying to determine what led to an apparent murder-suicide shooting in the driveway of a south Aurora home Friday afternoon. Denver7 News brings you breaking and developing news from Aurora, Colorado on KMGH-TV and TheDenverChannel.com. On Monday, a gunman killed 10 people at a Boulder grocery . And you cant bring them back.. [95] In the following week, two additional jurors were dismissed; the first due to emotional problems following the shooting of a family member, the second for recognizing a survivor who was wounded in the massacre. Alex Christopher Ewing has been in a Nevada Prison for most of the past 34 yrs for a similar attack there. He told them Marisol had a shot, didnt like it and went upstairs. (STORY: BREAKING: 2/2 Alex Christopher Ewing faces multiple charges in the January 1984 murders of Patricia Louise Smith in Lakewood and Bruce, Debra and Melissa Bennett in Aurora. Melissa Bennett seemed to enjoy the instrument, and when Connie headed home around 9 p.m. that night, she thought shed visit again and give more lessons if Melissa stayed interested. The Denver7 Team 4:22 PM, Jan . One recent report noted that "the gun murder rate in the U.S. is almost 20 times higher than the next 22 richest This past summer a young man named James Holmes bought four guns at local shops and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition on the Internet in the two months prior to opening up inside a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado. Events Shooting The shooting occurred in Theater 9 at the Century 16 multiplex (operated by Cinemark Theatres), located in the Town Center at Aurora shopping mall at 14300 E. Alameda Avenue. DENVER - An Arapahoe County jury on Friday found 60-year-old Alex Ewing guilty of killing three members of an Aurora family with a hammer in January 1984 in a case that went cold until DNA evidence linked him to the murders in 2018. Face of the man accused of 1984 Hammer Attack Triple Murder in Aurora & Lakewood Murder. She joined the paper in 2019 and previously worked as a crime reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in Pennsylvania and the Chattanooga Times Free Press in Tennessee. DNA evidence ties Ewing to the crime. They cut out a section of concrete floor to preserve a shoeprint. On July 16, 2015, James Holmes was found guilty on all 165 counts against . . Five men Jonathan Blunk, John Larimer, Matt McQuinn, Jesse Childress, and Alexander C. Teves died protecting their girlfriends or friends. Some believed he was playing a prank,[15] while others thought he was part of a special effects setup for the film's premiere, or a publicity stunt by the studio or theater management. She was hospitalized in a coma with serious facial injuries that left her paralyzed on her left side, Connie said. It began on January 7. iwondergallery. The assault occurred in Henderson, Nevada, after which Alex Ewing was arrested and remained incarcerated at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City, Nevada. [167], In a separate lawsuit in state court, Cinemark was sued by families of the victims, who alleged the theater should have taken greater measures to prevent such a shooting. His DNA also was found in the Lakewood home of Patricia Smith, 50, who was killed six days earlier. James Holmes, convicted on 24 counts of murder for shooting 12 people dead at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, was considered a quiet young man before the attack. [7] Police said that Holmes bought a ticket, entered the theater, and sat in the front row. He had violently attacked, raped and killed Patricia Smith in Lakewood a few days before the Aurora attacks. She was found bludgeoned with a hammer, with about 17 wounds to the head. The day before Melissas birthday. [178], In 2015, a campaign titled "No Notoriety" was started by the parents of Alexander Teves, who died in the shooting. Jump to Chapter Chapter 1: Aberrations Chapter 2: Synopsis Chapter 3: About The Author Chapter 4: 1. . Vanessa was found in bed, clinging to life beside a blood-soaked teddy bear. Although it took authorities nearly four decades to . Jurors were prohibited from learning about Ewing's conviction for the Bennett family trial in Arapahoe County when a discussion attempted to draw parallels between the two murder cases. . [8] There were about 400 people inside theater 9. . [29] Two federal officials said that Holmes had dyed his hair red and called himself "The Joker", although authorities later declined to confirm this. [166] Attorney Christina Habas, who represents several theater victims, has said: "We essentially don't have a single photograph, a single piece of evidence that we can show to a jury". [57][58] The people murdered were:[59][60], Ghawi had survived the Eaton Centre shooting in Toronto that occurred a month prior. According to press reports, he seemed dazed and largely unaware of his surroundings. NEW: Police release photos from the 1980s of Alex Christopher Ewing, suspect in 1984 hammer killings of Patricia Louise Smith and Bruce, Debra and Melissa Bennett. The aurora was caught on camera by photographer Nigel Wilkins, spectacularly lighting up the sky above Kenilworth Castle. [181] The reopening ceremony, which was boycotted by opponents of the theater's reopening, included a memorial service and a screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Vail's International Student Workers Feel Left Out in the Cold Over High Housing Costs, Help Prevent Car Theft: Let the Denver Police Department Track Your Stolen Vehicle's Location, "Western Water Girl" Uses TikTok to Make a Splash on Colorado Water Issues.
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