06-17-2015, 09:50 PM
Holmes' Personal Psychiatrist Before the Shootings Testifies
![[Image: 29AE9B0B00000578-3128397-image-a-17_1434557877950.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/17/17/29AE9B0B00000578-3128397-image-a-17_1434557877950.jpg)
Dr. Lynne Fenton testified Tuesday that Holmes told he was having homicidal thoughts as often as three or four times a day, but never let on that he was building a weapons arsenal and planning a mass killing.
If he revealed his intent, 'I likely would have put him on a mental health hold and contacted the police,' Fenton said.
Fenton called Holmes' mother, but was told that her patient had been shy and socially awkward for many years, diminishing the apparent risk that he would be a danger to himself or others. 'I thought it was much less likely this was a sudden, new psychotic break,' Fenton said.
Freed from patient-client privilege by Holmes' insanity plea, Fenton testimony in Holmes' death penalty trial marked her first public statements about him. Among other things, she described his behavior as anxious, hostile, bizarre and so worrisome that she took it upon herself to alert campus police but didn't find the evidence needed to hold someone against his will.
Defense attorneys say Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, is schizophrenic and was in the grips of a psychotic episode as he carried out the attack on July 20, 2012. If the jury agrees, he'll be committed indefinitely to a mental hospital instead of prison.
The state must prove he was legally sane at the time, which is the conclusion of two court-appointed psychiatrists who examined Holmes months and years after the attack. A guilty verdict could bring the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney Tamara Brady, Fenton acknowledged she had written in her notes that Holmes 'may be shifting insidiously into a frank psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia.' (HOTD: this helps the Defense, for sure.)
Fenton and Holmes had five therapy sessions between mid-March and June 11, 2012, when he dropped out of the graduate neuroscience program at the University of Colorado. He had come in with what a social worker described as the worst obsessive-compulsive disorder symptom s she had ever seen.
Holmes got medicine but deflected efforts to probe his thinking, Fenton said.At times, he showed flashes of anger, she said.
Two years after the attack, Holmes told a court-ordered examiner that he kept secret his elaborate schemes and to-do lists. He waited until just before the assault to mail his journal to Fenton.
'I kind of regret that she didn't lock me up so that everything could have been avoided,' Holmes told the examiner.
Fenton, who also faces a civil suit accusing her of not doing enough to stop the attack, faced a few more questions from the jury before leaving the witness stand. A prosecutor asked if she could be released from her subpoena, but the judge agreed with a defense objection, saying she may be summoned again.
So far, five jurors have been released; 19 remain.
Holmes' ex-girlfiend testified earlier on that he had alluded to carrying out violence. She broke up with him weeks before the massacre.
Ref: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3128397/5th-juror-dismissed-Colorado-theater-shooting-trial.html
Dr. Lynne Fenton testified Tuesday that Holmes told he was having homicidal thoughts as often as three or four times a day, but never let on that he was building a weapons arsenal and planning a mass killing.
If he revealed his intent, 'I likely would have put him on a mental health hold and contacted the police,' Fenton said.
Fenton called Holmes' mother, but was told that her patient had been shy and socially awkward for many years, diminishing the apparent risk that he would be a danger to himself or others. 'I thought it was much less likely this was a sudden, new psychotic break,' Fenton said.
Freed from patient-client privilege by Holmes' insanity plea, Fenton testimony in Holmes' death penalty trial marked her first public statements about him. Among other things, she described his behavior as anxious, hostile, bizarre and so worrisome that she took it upon herself to alert campus police but didn't find the evidence needed to hold someone against his will.
Defense attorneys say Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, is schizophrenic and was in the grips of a psychotic episode as he carried out the attack on July 20, 2012. If the jury agrees, he'll be committed indefinitely to a mental hospital instead of prison.
The state must prove he was legally sane at the time, which is the conclusion of two court-appointed psychiatrists who examined Holmes months and years after the attack. A guilty verdict could bring the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney Tamara Brady, Fenton acknowledged she had written in her notes that Holmes 'may be shifting insidiously into a frank psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia.' (HOTD: this helps the Defense, for sure.)
Fenton and Holmes had five therapy sessions between mid-March and June 11, 2012, when he dropped out of the graduate neuroscience program at the University of Colorado. He had come in with what a social worker described as the worst obsessive-compulsive disorder symptom s she had ever seen.
Holmes got medicine but deflected efforts to probe his thinking, Fenton said.At times, he showed flashes of anger, she said.
Two years after the attack, Holmes told a court-ordered examiner that he kept secret his elaborate schemes and to-do lists. He waited until just before the assault to mail his journal to Fenton.
'I kind of regret that she didn't lock me up so that everything could have been avoided,' Holmes told the examiner.
Fenton, who also faces a civil suit accusing her of not doing enough to stop the attack, faced a few more questions from the jury before leaving the witness stand. A prosecutor asked if she could be released from her subpoena, but the judge agreed with a defense objection, saying she may be summoned again.
So far, five jurors have been released; 19 remain.
Holmes' ex-girlfiend testified earlier on that he had alluded to carrying out violence. She broke up with him weeks before the massacre.
Ref: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3128397/5th-juror-dismissed-Colorado-theater-shooting-trial.html