DENVER — Tightening the secrecy over the year that Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes spent studying neuroscience, a judge has barred the University of Colorado Denver from releasing any records about the former graduate student’s time there.
What happened to the 24-year-old during his time in the program at the school’s Anschutz Medical Campus is one of the many mysteries stemming from last Friday’s mass shooting in which he’s accused of killing 12 people and injuring 58 others at a suburban Denver movie theater.
Neighbors and friends in San Diego, where Holmes grew up, described him as brilliant and sometimes awkward but never displaying signs of violence. He entered the prestigious Colorado program in June 2011, but a year later he dropped out after taking a year-end oral exam.
Numerous media organizations filed requests for school records about Holmes after he was named as the suspect in the shooting that happened just after midnight July 20.
But in an order signed Monday and released by the school Thursday, District Judge William Blair Sylvester said that releasing information in response to requests filed under the Colorado Open Records Act would “impede an ongoing investigation.” Sylvester is overseeing the criminal case against Holmes, who is expected to appear in court Monday and be formally charged.
Sylvester cited a provision of the Colorado Open Records Act that prevents the public from viewing open records “prohibited by ... the order of any court.”
Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers requested the order after the University of Colorado Denver warned her office Saturday about the record requests. In its request to the court, the district attorney’s office noted that reporters were not requesting educational records, which would be prohibited from being released, but e-mails that are not exempted from the openrecords law.
The order was not part of the publicly available case file until Thursday because of a clerical error, said Robert McCallum, a spokesman for the courts.
Sylvester had already issued a gag order barring attorneys and police from discussing the case with reporters. He has also sealed the case file, preventing the public from seeing the accusations and legal arguments that both sides will make.
Mark Caramanica, freedom of information director at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Arlington, Va., called the order “highly unorthodox.” He said it was unusual that a public institution would consult with an outside entity instead of just following the law and answering the request.
“It seems very premature for a court to get involved and make such a sweeping order,” Caramanica said. “It seems like a very broad and overly aggressive approach.”
Meanwhile, Congress on Thursday adopted a resolution honoring the shooting victims and the first responders in Aurora.
The House and Senate, on a voice vote, passed a resolution that recognizes individuals in the theater who selflessly sought to aid and protect others.
The resolution offered condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the 12 who died. It expressed hope for the rapid and complete recovery of the wounded.
The House also applauded the hundreds of local, state and federal officials who offered support, and honored the city of Aurora and the state of Colorado for their resilience in the face of adversity.
Elsewhere, Alex Teves, an Arizona man who was among the Colorado movie theater shooting victims was cremated this week in Phoenix, as his father remembered him as having a gift for defusing tense situations and a “heart of gold.”
Services were held Thursday in Denver for another victim, Micayla Medek, 23.
Teves, who grew up in Phoenix and graduated from an Arizona high school and college, died while shielding his girlfriend from the gunfire.
“He was one of the kindest kids who always gave of himself,” Tom Teves told the Arizona Republic newspaper. “You won’t find anyone who has a bad word to say about him, and that was true even before he died.”
At Medek’s funeral, mourners wore pink ribbons, some with Hello Kitty faces on them, in honor of her fondness for the color and the character.
Medek attended Aurora Community College and worked at a Subway sandwich shop. Family members described her as loving and independent-minded.
Visitation was held Thursday for theater victim Alex Sullivan, who was known as a gentle man with a glowing smile. His funeral will be private, and no details have been released.
Meanwhile, the body of a former Reno, Nev., resident who died in the shooting was being flown home to be buried. The family of 26-year-old Navy veteran Jonathan Blunk said his body is to arrive today at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
Blunk graduated from Reno’s Hug High School in 2004. His funeral is scheduled for Aug. 3 at the Mountain View Mortuary.
Former Air Force linguist Rebecca Wingo also is being remembered at a private memorial service today.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 07/27/2012