142 Charges Filed Against UC Riverside Grad Suspected In Colorado Massacre

A UC Riverside graduate who is accused of going on a killing spree in Colorado was charged today with 24 counts of murder and 116 counts of attempted murder.

James Holmes, 24, heard the charges against him in a Arapahoe County courtroom (see attached court document for details on the charges).

Holmes did not enter pleas today, and many legal analysts are saying there will be defense arguments about his sanity.

"I don't think it's too hard to predict the path of this proceeding," Craig Silverman, a former chief deputy district attorney in Denver, told The Associated Press. "This is not a whodunit. ... The only possible defense is insanity."

“If Holmes' attorneys cannot convince the court that he is mentally incompetent, and he is convicted, they can try to stave off a possible death penalty by arguing he is mentally ill. Prosecutors will decide whether to seek the death penalty in the coming weeks,” The Associated Press reported.

left 12 people dead and 58 others injured. After Holmes’ arrest, police said they found his apartment was booby trapped. Among the charges Monday was one count of possession of explosives.

According to The Associated Press, unlike Holmes' first court appearance July 23, today's hearing was not televised at the request of the defense. District Chief Judge William Sylvester barred video and still cameras from the courtroom today, saying expanded coverage could interfere with Holmes' right to a fair trial, The Associated Press reported.