FBI agent: Booby-trapped apartment would have killed or maimed 'whoever was there'

Centennial, Colo. — In addition to shooting up Theater 9 at the Century 16 in Aurora on July 20, 2012, James Holmes booby-trapped his apartment with a goal of killing or maiming anyone who was lured in by the loud music that began blaring from his computer half an hour after he left, an FBI explosives expert testified Tuesday in court.

Special Agent Bomb Technician Garrett Gumbinner took the stand for three hours Tuesday and explained his assignment on the morning of July 20, 2012 — clearing Holmes’ apartment and car of explosives and other hazards with the help of Aurora police. The booby-trapped apartment was the team’s major concern.

The chemicals and other devices in the apartment, Gumbinner said, “would have made the whole apartment explode, killing or maiming whoever was there.”

Gumbinner was the key witness in a day filled with testimony about the traps Holmes created before setting off for the Century 16. Survivors of the shooting and police who interviewed Holmes that morning offered additional testimony. But it was the defendant’s apartment — a 10-minute drive from the theater — that stirred the courtroom Tuesday.

For both the defendant’s car — a white Hyundai — and his apartment, FBI agents deployed a bomb robot first, for the safety of the bomb squad and FBI agents. If someone had opened his apartment door and walked into the dark living room that night, that person would have most likely triggered the trip wire. This would result in an open container of glycerin pouring into the frying pan below, which held a black powder called potassium permanganate.

The initial booby-trap was set up near to the couch in the defendant’s living room. Holmes had soaked the carpet of the room in gas and sprinkled it with another white powder, ammonium chloride, in a zig-zag formation. In the middle of the living room floor he placed a series of black plastic balls, approximately 6 inches in diameter, full of explosive powder. Six green two-liter soda bottles full of gasoline sat around the chairs that the defendant placed in the middle of the room. Agents also found a mortar and pestle containing cut up magnesium and homemade thermite.

Magnesium fires are exacerbated by water; the apartment was set up so that had the explosives detonated, firefighters and first responders fighting the fire with water would have experienced a reaction.

Agents also found three jars sitting around the apartment living room. These jars were filled with homemade Napalm and bullets, topped off with more homemade thermite.

All of these explosives and incendiary devices surrounded a launch control box, or a pyrotechnic firing box, which also had the potential to ignite the setup. Another of these boxes was found on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen, which was later detonated for safety purposes.

The details of the apartment’s setup were found both through bomb squad disarming of the explosives as well as the interview Gumbinner and Aurora Police Detective Craig Appel conducted with the defendant. During the interview, the defendant rarely made eye contact and spoke in monotone, both Gumbinner and Appel said during Tuesday’s testimony.

In providing these meticulous descriptions of the explosive set up, the prosecution is doing its best to show deliberation. If a crime is committed with deliberation, it means that the defendant intended to commit the crime and thought about it beforehand. This is an important step for the prosecution in the path to proving that the shooter was not insane at the time of the incident.

After Deputy District Attorney Rich Orman completed his questioning of Gumbinner, defense attorney Katherine Spengler aimed her rebuttal questions at discrediting Gumbinner as an expert witness, emphasizing that the bombs did not detonate. Orman ended the questioning of Gumbinner by asking if, in the interview, the defendant ever said that all of the explosives were just for show. He didn’t.

More victims take the stand

Tuesday morning’s proceedings focused mainly on the incendiary setup in the defendant’s apartment, but prosecutors kept the focus on the victims instead of the defendant by starting and interspersing the day with victim testimonies, working to keep their promise that the jury will hear from every victim.

The accounts of both Denise and Brandon Axelrod, victims of the shooting, opened Tuesday’s testimony.

“Please make it stop.”

Denise Axelrod pleaded with her husband, Brandon. A split-second earlier, Brandon had pushed Denise to the floor of Theater 9, attempting to shield her with his body after the first gunshot rang out in the first minutes of Friday, July 20, 2012.

The Axelrods spent Thursday with their friend Joshua Nowlan, re-watching all of the previous Batman movies. They were preparing for the midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises,” which they were excited to attend that evening.

Just a few hours later, when they left Theater 9 at the Century 16, blood had splattered and smeared its walls.

Maria Carbonell was Tuesday’s fifth witness.

She was a part of the Red Robin group attending for Alex Sullivan’s 27th birthday, with her son and daughter, 12 and 15 respectively, in tow. She recalled seeing the exit door open when the shooter came in, and hearing someone yell a profanity about the movie interruption. Carbonell lost track of her children during the chaos of fleeing the theater, stepping over two bodies on her way down the stairs. When shown a picture of Sullivan, who lost his life as a result of the shooting, she started to cry.

Defendant’s academic adviser testifies

Perhaps one of the people who had the most insight into the defendant’s life was his mentor during graduate school at the University of Colorado Boulder: today’s sixth witness, Sukumar Vijayaraghavan, nicknamed Suke.

Vijayaraghavan is the director of the neuroscience program at CU. He first met the defendant during interviews for the neuroscience program at CU, recalling him to be somewhat socially awkward, occasionally making out of context hand gestures and facial expressions. After admittance into the program, the defendant stayed somewhat in contact with Vijayaraghavan through occasional emails.

The CU neuroscience program is designed so that while taking classes, students are also participating in a lab rotation, three of which are required during the first year. In order to continue in the program, students must find a lab that will accept them after their rotation.

Vijayaraghavan evaluated the defendant’s first lab presentation, giving Holmes seven marks in the highest area, but medium marks in areas involving social skills, like mannerisms and responding appropriately with the audience. These marks continued to decrease with the following two labs.

After his June 7, 2012 oral exam, the defendant exchanged emails with Vijayaraghavan once again. Vijayaraghavan was concerned about the defendant’s performance in school, and they met to discuss it on June 11. Vijayaraghavan explained that he did not do well on the test, and he’d have to do a retest. Without much hesitation, the defendant replied that he would be leaving the program.

“I don’t do well with oral communication” the defendant said, just over a month before the theater massacre occurred. That was the last conversation Vijayaraghavan had with the defendant.