By the numbers: Grim toll of Aurora theater shooting rampage
After nearly three years of legal maneuvering, the trial of James E. Holmes is scheduled to begin Monday.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the July 20, 2012, rampage at a movie theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora.
Grim, somber and painful, the proceedings are expected to last all summer, rack up millions of dollars in court costs and remind Coloradans of a terrible chapter in state history.
82
Casualties in the rampage. Holmes is charged with killing 12 moviegoers and injuring 70 others, making the crime the largest mass shooting on American soil.
6
Age of the youngest person to die. Veronica Moser-Sullivan had just completed kindergarten.
51
Age of Gordon W. Cowden, the oldest person to die in the attack.
166
Criminal counts Holmes faces. This includes 24 counts of first-degree murder, two for each of the dozen victims.
9,000
Summonses sent out to prospective jurors. This is believed to be a record number of jury requests for an American trial.
500,000
Eligible jurors in the region. The net was cast so wide that nearly 1 in 50 residents could have received notices.
18
Pages of questions asked of prospective jurors. Queries included whether the prospects watch court or police reality shows and what kind of bumper stickers they have on their cars.
1,102
Days between the attack and the opening statements in the trial.
3
People currently on Colorado's death row. The penalty is rarely used in the Centennial State. If Holmes is found guilty, he could be put to death.
MORE:
Trial of Colorado theater gunman James Holmes: Opening statements Monday
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Maria L. La Ganga is the deputy managing editor for California and Metro, overseeing the Los Angeles Times’ largest editorial department. She joined The Times in 1981 as an academic intern, splitting her time between the former Metro section and National Dragster, the official publication of the National Hot Rod Assn. She has served as Seattle bureau chief, San Francisco bureau chief, edited in the Business section and pitched in on six presidential elections, five for The Times and one for the Guardian. La Ganga left The Times in 2015 and returned in 2018 after a brief hiatus during which she wrote for the Guardian and the Idaho Statesman. She was named city editor in 2022 and promoted to her current role in 2024. La Ganga graduated from Granada Hills High School in the San Fernando Valley and Cal State Northridge, where she studied English literature and journalism.