>>> good evening. the people of aurora, colorado today got to see the man they regard as the face of evil. the suspect in the mass shooting in colorado was let into court for a preliminary appearance today and seeing him was both striking and haunting. at various times his constantly changing facial expressions showed what might have been sadness, surprise, exhaustion, contentment, anger, confusion. many people thought he looked heavily medicated, sitting in court with the red hair dye apparently intended to mimic a character in the movie, which will now forever be associated with what happened during the midnight premiere in a denver suburb. the death toll remains at 12. 23 of the wounded remain hospitalized tonight. 11 of them critical. we begin our reporting this evening with nbc's mike taibbi , who was in the courtroom this morning. mike, good evening.
>> reporter: good evening, brian. it was an expectant even tense atmosphere in court today though this was a brief procedure. you could basically hear a pin drop, nobody moving as 9:30 approached. this was as you say the first chance for the public and more importantly the victims' families and victim survivors to get a look at the man who was the sole suspect in one of the worst gun massacres in this country's history.
>> call people vs. james holmes .
>> reporter: his appearance was bizarre, disengaged, unsettling. the pink/orange hair atop the prison jump suit, lethargic movements, james holmes looking no one in the eye when his eyes were open and reacting in no visible way when the judge told him why he was being held without bond.
>> the duty judge made a preliminary determination of probable cause to believe you committed the offense of first-degree murder.
>> reporter: a death penalty case though the decision to seek death will only be made after prosecutors hear the victims' families want it.
>> victims will be impacted by that decision in an enormous way for years if the death penalty is sought.
>> reporter: this was a brief, procedural hearing, a gag order limiting the release of information about the case and the reading of the defendant's rights to holmes , himself.
>> you have a right to remain silent.
>> reporter: the investigation of holmes accelerated saturday when his booby trapped apartment was defused by a controlled detonation. before that, a robotic camera had recorded what was inside -- combat posters, a computer, trip wires, and explosives. nbc's chris hanson viewed some of that tape.
>> dozens of black, softball shaped fireworks shells that he bought, filled with explosive powder. they're all over the place.
>> reporter: a potential killing field here and a real one at the theater three miles away . the months leading this once aspiring scientist to this grim spotlight were months of change. he had gone from a clean cut, gifted student to a sullen recluse who police say bought four guns just like these and went online to buy 6,000 rounds of ammunition, 150 pounds worth, and ballistic combat gear some items as recently as two weeks before the massacre. he tried to join a gun club but never followed up. he dropped out of grad school . no reason given.
>> he had officially withdrawn. that withdrawal had not been finally processed.
>> reporter: and now in court he was the same mute, unresponsive figure he's been since his arrest. his demeanor perhaps a statement in itself.
>> it's a powerful image. we saw james holmes and there is clearly something not right about him. in some ways that could be helpful to the defense.
>> reporter: helpful if they choose an insanity defense if he is really insane.
>> i have never seen anyone who is able to fake it into an insanity defense . there are very sophisticated tests used and the state hospital is hypersensitive to the issue of are we being played by a defendant here?
>> reporter: holmes is back in solitary now in the county jail . his next court appearance next monday will be for formal charges against him and then perhaps a month or two after that the formal arraignment at which time he will enter a plea -- guilty, not guilty, or not guilty by reason of insanity.
>> mike taibbi starting us off from the courthouse, centennial, colorado tonight. mike, thanks.
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/48293617/
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