Editor's note: Denver7 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. — Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday in the trial of the man who shot and killed 10 people at a Boulder King Soopers three years ago.
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.
Denver7's Coverage of the Boulder King Soopers Shooting
The jury will soon decide if the shooter was insane at the time of the shooting. The defense argues that untreated, severe schizophrenia caused the shooter's actions, while the prosecution contends that the shooter understood what he was doing that day.
In Colorado, for a not guilty by reason of insanity defense to be successful, attorneys must prove that the defendant did not know right from wrong and they were unable to form criminal intent due to their mental condition.
Denver7 breaks down three key points in the trial in the video player below:
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