Colo Shooter sent notebook with plans for attack

[arterr0]

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/25/james-holmes-sent-notebook-psychiatrist_n_1702216.html?1343238606


The man accused of killing a dozen people at a midnight screening of the 'The Dark Knight Rises' sent a journal detailing the rampage to a University of Colorado psychiatrist prior to the attack, only for it to go untouched in a campus mailroom, according to a Fox News report.

The diary of 24-year-old James Holmes -- "full of details about how he was going to kill people" -- was discovered Monday by authorities investigating another package at the school's Anschutz medical campus in Aurora, a law enforcement official told the network. The source also said that the package had been in the mailroom since July 12.


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[Deleted]

i feel like throwing up.

[ECB]

Jul 25, 2012 14:03:07 GMT -5 cville said:

i feel like throwing up.

Seriously.

[lilmgirl]

WHAT?? It was sitting in a mail room since July 12? OMG, there are no words...

[winston]

Holy shit.

[heyjude]

Jul 25, 2012 14:06:44 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

It's the middle of the summer. On a college campus. This is weird. Did he *think* it would get read?

Everything about this is completely bizarre to me.

My sister is in a phd program (in neuroscience, oddly) and her work/research doesn't stop in the summer.

[heightsyankee]

Jul 25, 2012 14:11:57 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

Jul 25, 2012 14:09:30 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

I thought the opposite. He probably knew it wouldn't be and liked the message it sent - a big FU to the world. He told people, but they were too slow/stupid/lazy or whatever to get to it and stop him.

Also, if he died or something, it would add to his "diabolical plan" type of legacy.

He could have accomplished this, though, by leaving it in his apartment.

Completely weird.

Not if he planned for his whole apartment to look like this:

[hawkeye]

so do we think he suddenly grew a conscience or what, when he told police about the apartment?

That baffles me the most.

[ttt]

He could have just carried it with him - they'd find it in his pocket or bag whether he died or lived and was arrested.

Who knows why he did it, but I bet both that professor and whoever is responsible for the mailroom feel horrible.

[copzgirl1171]

I guess I am getting soft because I bet he wanted it found and wanted this particular professor to get it as a cry for help.

[Deleted]

my head hurts reading that.

[Deleted]

Omg.I almost read that as a cry for help as well.

Regardless, that's awful.

[ttt]

Jul 25, 2012 14:27:42 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

Jul 25, 2012 14:22:53 GMT -5 hawkeye said:

so do we think he suddenly grew a conscience or what, when he told police about the apartment?

That baffles me the most.

I have to say, the entire thing baffles me. He doesn't fit the usual profile. He didn't off himself after the event. He went to the trouble of booby trapping his apt, but then told the police he'd done it. He dressed up like the Joker, who isn't even in this movie... I mean, it's completely weird. I know there's some bizarro conspiracy theory circulating about him being brainwashed through FBI experiments and I'm not buying that, but there's GOT to be more to this story. A PhD candidate with nothing more than a traffic violation doesn't just one day wake up and decide to be a mass murderer and then pull it off like this.

There has got to be mental illness involved here. He doesn't appear to be angry about something in particular, just extremely disturbed and apparently aware that something is wrong with him. I'm no psychologist, but could it be possible he's suffering from some sort of mental illness that causes him to have delusions as well as moments of clarity?

[copzgirl1171]

The Joker has green hair, yes? Not red/orange.

[wawa]

Jul 25, 2012 14:27:42 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

Jul 25, 2012 14:22:53 GMT -5 hawkeye said:

so do we think he suddenly grew a conscience or what, when he told police about the apartment?

That baffles me the most.

I have to say, the entire thing baffles me. He doesn't fit the usual profile. He didn't off himself after the event. He went to the trouble of booby trapping his apt, but then told the police he'd done it. He dressed up like the Joker, who isn't even in this movie... I mean, it's completely weird. I know there's some bizarro conspiracy theory circulating about him being brainwashed through FBI experiments and I'm not buying that, but there's GOT to be more to this story. A PhD candidate with nothing more than a traffic violation doesn't just one day wake up and decide to be a mass murderer and then pull it off like this.

Why do people keep saying that? His hair is red-orange, not green. And he was wearing all black, not purple.

[copzgirl1171]

Jul 25, 2012 14:34:41 GMT -5 wawa said:

Jul 25, 2012 14:27:42 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

I have to say, the entire thing baffles me. He doesn't fit the usual profile. He didn't off himself after the event. He went to the trouble of booby trapping his apt, but then told the police he'd done it. He dressed up like the Joker, who isn't even in this movie... I mean, it's completely weird. I know there's some bizarro conspiracy theory circulating about him being brainwashed through FBI experiments and I'm not buying that, but there's GOT to be more to this story. A PhD candidate with nothing more than a traffic violation doesn't just one day wake up and decide to be a mass murderer and then pull it off like this.

Why do people keep saying that? His hair is red-orange, not green. And he was wearing all black, not purple.

jinx

[winston]

Jul 25, 2012 14:23:53 GMT -5 ttt said:

He could have just carried it with him - they'd find it in his pocket or bag whether he died or lived and was arrested.

Who knows why he did it, but I bet both that professor and whoever is responsible for the mailroom feel horrible.

But same problem if the idea was to put it out there ahead of time. If he was carrying it then no one would find it ahead of time. He mailed it and someone should have found it ahead of time, but didn't.

He either hoped someone would see it, or assumed no one would bother even though he'd put his plan out into the world for someone to see. Depends on what result he wanted, I guess.

[ThirdandLong]

I posted this on ML earlier too.
The Yahoo story is a little different. It says that the psychiatrist called police about a different package that turned out to be nothing, and then police found this package from Holmes in the mailroom. That one seems more fishy. I wonder what the truth is here.

[copzgirl1171]

Jul 25, 2012 14:38:03 GMT -5 ThirdandLong said:

I posted this on ML earlier too.
The Yahoo story is a little different. It says that the psychiatrist called police about a different package that turned out to be nothing, and then police found this package from Holmes in the mailroom. That one seems more fishy. I wonder what the truth is here.

I am smelling a university fish tale here.

[gardengal]

Jul 25, 2012 14:34:41 GMT -5 wawa said:

Jul 25, 2012 14:27:42 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

I have to say, the entire thing baffles me. He doesn't fit the usual profile. He didn't off himself after the event. He went to the trouble of booby trapping his apt, but then told the police he'd done it. He dressed up like the Joker, who isn't even in this movie... I mean, it's completely weird. I know there's some bizarro conspiracy theory circulating about him being brainwashed through FBI experiments and I'm not buying that, but there's GOT to be more to this story. A PhD candidate with nothing more than a traffic violation doesn't just one day wake up and decide to be a mass murderer and then pull it off like this.

Why do people keep saying that? His hair is red-orange, not green. And he was wearing all black, not purple.

apparently in some of the comics the joker has red hair. and, while i haven't seen the newer batmans, apparently the joker in one puts on a red wig to get thru security or something.

[copzgirl1171]

Let me elaborate.

The university has been very tight lipped on this whole thing, so I don't know why I would expect them to be 100% forthcoming with damming evidence that they MAY have been holding this?

[lilmgirl]

What are you thoughts on this: had this journal been found, do you think this would have never happened? If so, who is at fault or is there anyone to fault?

[thejackpot]

Red hair reference? I thought there was a scene where the Joker put on a red wig to blow up a hospital. I am not sure though.

[onomatopoeia]

In regards to him booby-trapping his apartment, I wonder if he did that thinking it would cause a diversion and tie up the police while he shot up the theater. From what I read, he put loud music on a timer and left his door unlocked...did he think/hope someone would go in? It almost worked...a neighbor almost did after she banged on his door to tell him to shut it off. So I wonder if he didn't confess to the police about the booby traps, but instead made a a comment believing the bombs had gone off, and they figured it out.

As for him sending this journal...that's sickening. I can't imagine he did it as a big FU knowing it wouldn't be read right away...why would he take that risk? Armchair psychologist alert: I wonder if he did it as sort of a way to test fate, in his demented mind. "If they're smart enough to read this and stop me, then I won't do it".

[pixy0stix]

Jul 25, 2012 14:44:22 GMT -5 lilmgirl said:

What are you thoughts on this: had this journal been found, do you think this would have never happened? If so, who is at fault or is there anyone to fault?

This is my question. Even if it would have been read, what would have happened? Would it have been reported? Would the authorities have seen it as a credible threat?

[lilmgirl]

Jul 25, 2012 14:27:42 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

Jul 25, 2012 14:22:53 GMT -5 hawkeye said:

so do we think he suddenly grew a conscience or what, when he told police about the apartment?

That baffles me the most.

I have to say, the entire thing baffles me. He doesn't fit the usual profile. He didn't off himself after the event. He went to the trouble of booby trapping his apt, but then told the police he'd done it. He dressed up like the Joker, who isn't even in this movie... I mean, it's completely weird. I know there's some bizarro conspiracy theory circulating about him being brainwashed through FBI experiments and I'm not buying that, but there's GOT to be more to this story. A PhD candidate with nothing more than a traffic violation doesn't just one day wake up and decide to be a mass murderer and then pull it off like this.

Maybe he wants to be the next case study?

[ThirdandLong]

Jul 25, 2012 14:50:32 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Jul 25, 2012 14:41:07 GMT -5 @copzgirl1171 said:

Let me elaborate.

The university has been very tight lipped on this whole thing, so I don't know why I would expect them to be 100% forthcoming with damming evidence that they MAY have been holding this?

Why is that so damming, though? Do they have some obligation to open their mail within some time period (in the summer, no less)?

If the story is true, the university has nothing to feel bad about. Leaving out any other circumstances about his attendance there, which I know nothing about.

A little conspiracy theory here - But if professor had the book and did nothing, then the shooting happens and he says "oh crap. they need this for evidence but I can't let them know I had it." Then he gets a new envelope, writes Holmes name and his on it, chucks the diary in it, pays mailroom clerk $$ to help him adjust the time and date on the postage meter (easily done at my workplace anyway) and stamps the new envelope, stashes it in the mail room, and calls the police about bogus letter.
Viola! Police have the notebook for evidence in an unopened envelope dated a week ago, and Professor is "free" from the guilt of having it and doing nothing.

[ChillyMcFreeze]

I mean, I just retrieved a box full of mail for my department--it hadn't been checked since June. I'll bet the professor feels major guilt over missing it, but it's not unusual for things to go unchecked in the summer on a college campus. It's impossible to say whether Holmes realized that.

[heyjude]

Why is everyone jumping to mental illness. What if it was drugs?

Also, what if he is just a sociopath? That's not necessarily a mental illness issue.

[cotner]

Jul 25, 2012 14:46:23 GMT -5 onomatopoeia said:

In regards to him booby-trapping his apartment, I wonder if he did that thinking it would cause a diversion and tie up the police while he shot up the theater. From what I read, he put loud music on a timer and left his door unlocked...did he think/hope someone would go in? It almost worked...a neighbor almost did after she banged on his door to tell him to shut it off. So I wonder if he didn't confess to the police about the booby traps, but instead made a a comment believing the bombs had gone off, and they figured it out.

As for him sending this journal...that's sickening. I can't imagine he did it as a big FU knowing it wouldn't be read right away...why would he take that risk? Armchair psychologist alert: I wonder if he did it as sort of a way to test fate, in his demented mind. "If they're smart enough to read this and stop me, then I won't do it".

The neighbor who almost went it and her bf/so said the music started exactly at midnight and stopped exactly at 1:00am. I think what pp said is how he thought it would happen.