Prosecutors to outline evidence in Colorado theater deaths

— Nearly six months after a bloody rampage in a Colorado movie theater left 12 people dead, prosecutors will go to court Monday to outline their case against the suspect, James Holmes.

Holmes is charged with more than 160 counts, including murder and attempted murder.

Investigators say he was wearing body armor and a gas mask when he tossed two gas canisters and then opened fire in a theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora on July 20. A midnight showing of the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises had just begun.

In addition to the 12 dead, 58 were wounded.

Many of the survivors and family members of the dead are expected to attend the preliminary hearing, and court officials expect an overflow crowd of reporters and spectators.

The preliminary hearing that starts Monday is expected to last all week. The official purpose is to allow the judge to determine whether the prosecution’s case is strong enough to warrant a trial, but legal analysts say it’s rare for a judge not to order a trial if a case gets this far.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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