You can see the defendant in the fuzzy picture above getting ready to fall backward. I remember that time in November 2012. We had a hearing but it was abruptly cancelled because of an emergency. We later learned that James Holmes had fallen backward on purpose and hit his head on the floor.
鈥淗e was doing a trust fall. He thought someone would catch him鈥� 鈥� Public Defender Dan King during opening statements.
In trial today, public defender Dan King explained the bizarre incident. He said that at 3:32 a.m., November 11, 2012, three months after the shooting, the defendant stood barefoot on his bed, contemplated his next move for a couple of minutes, and then let himself fall backward to the hard floor. His rear end hit first, his back rolled over to where his head hit the floor and then bounced off of the wall behind him. He lay there for a while, knees up, with his hands crossed over his chest while three prison guards stood over him. He then walked out of the cell on his own.
The video was in color, had no sound, and lasted six minutes.
JH told the RN who was called to the incident that he didn鈥檛 want to be seen for medical treatment. Thursday on the stand, Jason Frank told the jury that he was not concerned that about any serious injuries. Later, the first psychiatrist to evaluate the accused gunman, Jonathan Woodcock, said that the accused gunman鈥檚 nonchalance about the fall is consistent with his mental illness.