Editor's note: Scripps News Denver has chosen to not include the defendant's name in our coverage of the trial to respect victims and their loved ones, and to not glorify the defendant. This trial aims to determine if the defendant was insane or not at the time of the shooting — not if he shot and killed people at the King Soopers, which the defense is not contesting. Therefore, we have removed words such as "alleged" and "suspected" from our trial coverage when referring to him.
BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — The jury trial is underway to determine if a defendant accused of shooting and killing 10 people at a King Soopers store in Boulder on March 22, 2021 was insane at the time of the shooting.
The defendant was arrested the same day as the mass shooting, but the case was stalled by several competency hearings. He was found competent to stand trial in August 2023 and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity three months later. He faces a slew of charges, including 10 counts of first-degree murder, 38 counts of attempted murder, first-degree assault, and six counts of using a large-capacity magazine in a crime, plus multiple crimes of violence.
The 10 people who lost their lives that day were Suzanne Fountain, Rikki Olds, Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, Jody Waters, Denny Stong, Tralona Bartkowiak, Neven Stanisic, Kevin Mahoney, Lynn Murray and Teri Leiker. Read more about them here.
Opening statements began on the morning of Sept. 5. Denver7 will follow each day of this trial. Read the latest below.
Denver7's Coverage of the Boulder King Soopers Shooting
Wednesday, Sept. 18
The brother of the defendant in the Boulder King Soopers shooting testified first in court Wednesday morning.
Mahmoud Alissa reiterated what the defendant's sister, mother and father all testified to in previous days of trial — that he started to see changes in the defendant's behavior around his brother's senior year of high school. The defendant's brother said his brother started withdrawing, cutting out friends and not talking as much. He stayed in his room a lot and didn't go to college after high school. The brothers worked together at a family restaurant and the defendant started becoming "sloppy" and "forgetful." He would forget to turn the fryer off — something they did every day — and burn the rice.
When the defendant's brother saw the defendant talking or laughing to himself, his brother wondered if the defendant might be on drugs.
In his testimony, the defendant's brother recounted how after 2019, the defendant appeared emotionless. But he wasn't always like that. The defendant's brother also agreed with the defense lawyer that his brother had gained quite a bit of weight during that time, according to pictures described in court, which paralleled to the changes observed in the defendant's behavior.
The defendant's brother had previously testified he didn't see the defendant with any guns, but later admitted he saw an assault rifle and thought it was a new hobby of the defendant's. He clarified, he didn't have any concerns about his brother because he didn't think there was any indication of his brother using the fun for violent purposes.
When the defendant's brother was asked if he doesn't want something bad to happen to his brother, he answered, "I want what's right to happen."
An assistant professor in psychology at University of Colorado testified next.
Dr. Ahmad Adi grew up in Saudi Arabia and went to medical school there. He was called as a witness to address any questions about mental health, specifically as it pertains to Middle Eastern cultures and how that differs from the United States.
He confirmed what the defendant's father had told the jury Tuesday — that mental illness is heavily stigmatized in the Middle East. And then Dr. Adi said oftentimes when families immigrate to the U.S., they make friends from the same country or community so they're not exposed to different perceptions on mental health. He pointed to this being especially true given the propensity for Middle Eastern families to live together as people get older, versus separate and go to college like in the U.S. — an experience the defendant didn't have. Dr. Adi also testified in Middle Eastern culture, it's often advised not to talk about a mental illness with anyone outside someone's family.
The defense took a break around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday before prosecution proceeded with the cross examination.
Watch Denver7's previous coverage of the Boulder King Soopers shooting in the video playlist above.
In re-direct, Dr. Adi explained that the shame and stigma around a male son having a mental illness may be even more heightened because that son would be the presumed next leader of the family. Additionally, in Middle Eastern cultures, people may think symptoms of mental illness may be attributed to something completely different like being possessed by an evil spirit.
Dr. Adi was then released, and the defense brought Dr. Joshua Hatfield to the stand.
Dr. Hatfield met with the defendant immediately following the shooting and testified Wednesday that all the pieces fit together to diagnose the defendant with Schizophrenia. He said he based that diagnosis on his review of family records, his observations of the defendant's paranoia and hygiene.
However, Dr. Hatfield said the defendant never gave a motive for the shooting.
The court then took a break for lunch and planned to proceed with a cross-examination of Dr. Hatfield in the afternoon.
After the court returned from lunch recess, Dr. Hatfield testified he did not provide therapy to the defendant and had not seen him or reviewed any information related to the case since August 2021.
Dr. Hatfield's review included a full accounting of the defendant's medical history none of which indicated any history of mental illness with only one reference to substance use — alleged use of marijuana in high school.
He testified he looked to see if doctors had ever reported symptoms of mental illness in the defendant's medical records, which he said he didn't see anything noted in those documents.
Dr. Hatfield reviewed the defendant's intake video from March 23, 2021 in which he was screened by a nurse at the Boulder County Jail. The nurse asked the defendant if he hears voices to which he replied "rarely" and denied that voices told him to harm others or himself. The defendant was asked in the video how may voices he hears — replying "not a lot".
Dr. Hatfield testified the defendant "consistently denied having psychotic symptoms" and in an August 24, 2021 meeting allegedly talked about hearing voices and "all he would say is that it was just yelling."
Just before he stepped down from the stand, Dr. Hatfield testified that the defendant told him that he did not expect to survive the shooting, asked for the death penalty and appeared to become upset when he was notified that Colorado did not have the death penalty, allegedly saying "the victims are dead and he (the defendant) should be too."
Dr. Hatfield was released and the defense rested its case before the court took a break at around 2 p.m.
The prosecution was expected to call one more witness as a rebuttal.
Following the mid-afternoon break, the prosecution called Dr. Ian Lamoureux — a forensic psychiatrist — to the stand, who for the majority of his work in criminal cases, has worked with defense — normally reviewing sanity evaluations and provide second opinions.
Becoming first involved in the Boulder King Soopers shooting case in Feburary of this year, Dr. Lamoureaux stated: "This case involved probably the most substantial record review I've ever done."
That review involved police, jail and clinical records as well as witness statements and the defendant's mental health records from various facilities, including the Boulder County Jail.
He testified to how he assesses mental illness — which he described as a clinical issued — looking to see if the person meets certain criteria on sanity, a legal issue.
If the person does have a mental health disorder, Dr. Lamoureaux said an analysis is performed to see if that diagnosis impacts the person's ability to perform simple tasks.
In Colorado, that means determining if a defendant can distinguish right from wrong.
While Dr. Lamoureaux did not personally evaluate the shooter — as Colorado law does not allow — he did review videos of the defendant.
Dr. Lamoureaux testified that he believes the defendant did have schizophrenia at the time of the mental health evaluations — and that it was in partial remission. "The illness is not 100% gone, so to speak — so still some residual symptoms," adding that there's evidence his schizophrenia is "not in a full episode."
He estimated that around 3.4 to 3.6 million people in the United States have schizophrenia.
"Many people stay out of trouble — often victims, rather than offenders," he stated. "When they are arrested, they can distinguish right from wrong — and must be assessed on a case by case basis."
Dr. Lamoureaux continued: "So, you can't make a blanket statement about someone with schizophrenia not knowing right from wrong, or knowing right from wrong."
To the defendant's assertion that he has heard voices that were screaming or yelling, Dr. Lamoureaux said that was "an atypical description" and that most people with schizophrenia experience very loud voices while alone or when trying to sleep.
"Hearing a voice, or a command even — does not speak to someone's ability to tell right from wrong," he testified.
Dr. Lamoureaux — in reviewing footage from King Soopers — said he did not see evidence that the defendant was suffering from auditory hallucinations during the mass shooting.
“It was quite remarkable just how focused and fixated he was on carrying out the shooting," he said.
When asked by the prosecution if he believed the defendant — on the day after the shooting when he was searched at the Boulder County Jail — could distinguish right from wrong, he said he did believe the shooter was capable, despite having schizophrenia.
He cited the defendant's plan to die in a shootout and that it — to him — demonstrates an understanding of right and wrong.
Dr. Lamoureaux testified in assessing the defendant's mental state during the shooting, it's key that the shooter wasn't referencing demons or making religious references which are sometimes present in other instances.
He said there was no evidence that "God was telling him to do something."
As to a possible motive, Dr. Lamoureaux reinforced witness testimony which stated the defendant yelled "this is fun" while committing the shooting and that it raised a possibility of personal gratification for the violence.
Adding that the defendant brought multiple firearms, tactical gear, several magazines for both guns — demonstrated that the shooter had planned to continue harming people he had already shot — ensuring that they died — which spoke to planning and intent.
Just before a break, Dr. Lamoureaux testified that he believed the defendant could distinguish right from wrong and that he was sane on March 22, 2021 — the day of the shooting.
The court took another break before cross-examination was expected.
After a quick brief cross examination, Dr. Lamoureax was dismissed as the final witness of the trial. Wrapping up Wednesday's proceedings,
Wrapping up Wednesday's proceedings, Judge Ingrid Bakke decided Thursday the parties will work through jury instructions. Both the defendant and jury will not be present in court on Thursday.
The jury is expected to return to court on Friday morning where Judge Bakke is expected to read the jury instructions. She plans on around 2 1/2 hours for closing arguments before the jury begins deliberations.
Scripps News Denver reporter Colette Bordelon was in the courtroom all day Wednesday. Watch her full recap in the video player below.
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