Defense: Colo. suspect was seeing psychiatrist

Associated Press

DENVER

The former graduate student accused in the deadly Colorado movie-theater shooting was being treated by a psychiatrist at the university where he studied, the first indication that he may have sought help before the rampage that killed 12 people and wounded 58.

Attorneys for James Holmes, 24, made the disclosure in a court motion Friday as they sought to discover the source of leaks to some media outlets that he sent the psychiatrist a package containing a notebook with descriptions of an attack.

The motion said the leaks jeopardized Holmes’ right to a fair trial and violated a judge’s gag order.

Holmes’ lawyers added that the package contained communications between Holmes and his psychiatrist that should be shielded from public view. The document describes Holmes as a “psychiatric patient” of Dr. Lynne Fenton.

The motion did not reveal when Holmes began seeing Fenton or whether he was being treated for a mental illness. Legal analysts expect Holmes’ attorneys to use an insanity defense at trial. Holmes is scheduled to be arraigned Monday. A hearing on the new defense motion also is scheduled that day.

Calls to Holmes’ lawyer and the state public defender’s office were not returned immediately, nor was a message left with Fenton’s office. A spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County prosecutor’s office declined to comment.

The University of Colorado’s website identified Fenton as the medical director of the school’s Student Mental Health Services. An online resume stated that she sees 10 to 15 graduate students a week for medication and psychotherapy, as well as five to 10 patients in her general practice as a psychiatrist. Schizophrenia was listed as one of her research interests.