Report: Psychiatrist tried to discuss Colo. shooting suspect
DENVER (AP) - A University of Colorado psychiatrist whose clients included the former student accused of the Aurora theater shooting reportedly tried to discuss the man with members of a campus behavioral and security committee about a month before the attack but the group never convened.
KMGH-TV, citing sources it did not identify, reported Wednesday that psychiatrist Lynne Fenton telephoned some members of the team about graduate student James Holmes in early June. It wasn't known what Fenton reportedly wanted to discuss, the station said.
Holmes dropped out of the university on June 10. He was arraigned Monday on charges of killing 12 people and wounding 58 at an Aurora movie theater on July 20.
KMGH, citing unnamed sources, reported that campus officials did not contact Aurora police before July 20 and that the committee didn't meet to discuss Holmes because he began the process to drop out of the school.
The university said Wednesday it could not discuss the report, citing a court order barring the school from releasing details about Holmes' yearlong tenure there.
The university did confirm that Fenton was a member of a campus Behavior Evaluation and Threat Assessment team, composed of faculty and staff, including campus police. The team was created to address behavioral problems as well as potential security issues involving members of the campus community.
Fenton couldn't be immediately reached for comment, and it was not known if she had an attorney. Members of the university team didn't return telephone messages seeking comment.
On Friday, Holmes' attorneys filed a motion that revealed Holmes was seeing Fenton. The revelation raised questions about Holmes' year of study at the university's medical campus and about possible motives behind the shooting.
However, a court clerk later blacked out that portion of the document and reposted the redacted document online because of a judge's order to seal documents in the case. State Court administrator spokesman Rob McCallum declined to say if anyone directly involved in the case ordered the redactions.
The defense motion demanded that a package allegedly sent to Fenton by Holmes, and received at the university after the shooting, be kept sealed because of doctor-patient confidentiality. It also demanded information on who may have leaked information about its contents to some news media outlets that reported - without named sources - that Holmes had written descriptions of an attack in a notebook.
Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers disputed reports that a notebook contained descriptions of an attack.
District Chief Judge William Sylvester has sealed all court orders, search warrants, affidavits and the case file.
A hearing on the defense motion is set for Aug. 16.
KMGH-TV, citing sources it did not identify, reported Wednesday that psychiatrist Lynne Fenton telephoned some members of the team about graduate student James Holmes in early June. It wasn't known what Fenton reportedly wanted to discuss, the station said.
Holmes dropped out of the university on June 10. He was arraigned Monday on charges of killing 12 people and wounding 58 at an Aurora movie theater on July 20.
KMGH, citing unnamed sources, reported that campus officials did not contact Aurora police before July 20 and that the committee didn't meet to discuss Holmes because he began the process to drop out of the school.
The university said Wednesday it could not discuss the report, citing a court order barring the school from releasing details about Holmes' yearlong tenure there.
The university did confirm that Fenton was a member of a campus Behavior Evaluation and Threat Assessment team, composed of faculty and staff, including campus police. The team was created to address behavioral problems as well as potential security issues involving members of the campus community.
Fenton couldn't be immediately reached for comment, and it was not known if she had an attorney. Members of the university team didn't return telephone messages seeking comment.
On Friday, Holmes' attorneys filed a motion that revealed Holmes was seeing Fenton. The revelation raised questions about Holmes' year of study at the university's medical campus and about possible motives behind the shooting.
However, a court clerk later blacked out that portion of the document and reposted the redacted document online because of a judge's order to seal documents in the case. State Court administrator spokesman Rob McCallum declined to say if anyone directly involved in the case ordered the redactions.
The defense motion demanded that a package allegedly sent to Fenton by Holmes, and received at the university after the shooting, be kept sealed because of doctor-patient confidentiality. It also demanded information on who may have leaked information about its contents to some news media outlets that reported - without named sources - that Holmes had written descriptions of an attack in a notebook.
Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers disputed reports that a notebook contained descriptions of an attack.
District Chief Judge William Sylvester has sealed all court orders, search warrants, affidavits and the case file.
A hearing on the defense motion is set for Aug. 16.
Interesting that the school has a team set up to make threat assessments, but it only does so if you are going to be at the school... Seems to me, that there is some liability that should be spread around for the shcool threat assessment team. They knew about his instability and did nothing to alert the local police about it..
Ah, all the dysfunction of higher education is really glaring brightly this year. All is not well at College USA folks, their flow chart must start with the question "Can We Hide it or Wash Our Hands of It? "
 @Citizen#3457899654"{A}ll the dysfunction of higher education"??? I don't see how this has anything to do with college life in the U.S. I'm quite certain this individual would have turned to violence, college student or not. Similarly, if you are using the Sandusky scandal to support your argument -- I think he would have molested children wherever he worked.
 @felines99 You're right that he would have turned violent whether in college or not, but I think Citizen's point is that the college knew he was potentially violent and failed to report it to the police.  It seems that too many colleges don't consider themselves to be part of the community in which they're located.
 @Cetus And you're saying that colleges USED TO "consider themselves to be part of the community in which they're located"??? I don't think so. Colleges have never had much of a civic presence; that's not what they're about. The notion that colleges need to be more aware of security concerns is something colleges are just becoming used to; it's a new normalcy for them. But simply notifying police of a potentially violent individual has nothing to do with how "dysfunctional" a college is.
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial...
What part of "public" is not being understood by those making the gag orders?
 @GlassmanÂ
Umm, maybe because the trial hasn't started yet? The public does not have the right to know the evidence that will be presented at trial before the trial begins. That only adds to public speculation and makes it more difficult for a defendant to receive a fair trial.Â
 @ByeByeBarry First Amendment to the United States Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
What part of freedom of the press are you ignoring?
 @GlassmanÂ
"What part of freedom of the press are you ignoring?"
Â
I'm not. The press is free to report anything that they can find out about the case. But that does not mean that the lawyers etc. involved in the case are required to tell the press anything. The judge in this case ordered everyone involved in the prosecution and defense not to talk to the press. Why? In order to protect the right of the defendant to a fair trial by preventing the defendant from being tried in the court of public opinion. Be patient my friend, all the facts will be made public in due time. Â
We need to do what they do in Great Britain. Instead of finding someone "not guilty by reason of insanity" in Britain they have the option to find them "guilty but insane." Under the British system such a finding removes the threat of the harshest punishment such as the death penalty and at the same time insures that the defendent will not be released from prison.Â
Easy fix.... Start charging psychiatrists with manslaughter
 @Patriot Sounds like the Psychiatrist reported the threat to who she was supposed to. We don't know exactly what information she had, but at least she tried to do something. With Hippa laws and such, unless he told her he was going to specifically do this, making the report may have been all she could do. The school's threat team, on the other hand, may have trouble ahead.
It appears this young man is making good use of the taxpayer-provided defense services. Maybe they can even ward off a conviction if they do enough of this picking the fly$hit out of the pepper on the psycho paperwork trail.
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I haven't heard anything in the mainstream media about reports that he's spitting on the guards.
So it would appear to me that the argument of "insanity" has begun. Honestly can anyone be considered "sane" and willingly murder a dozen people and attempt to kill more? I understand the argument...just hate the fact that it escapes the responsible party from consequences.
 @aintno1special:Â
They need to change the verdict from "not guilty by reason of insantiy" to "guilty but insane", and then change the punishment as well. Both recognize the insanity, but they differ greatly in what they are saying about a person on trial.