DENVER – A court document revealing that the man accused of the deadly Colorado movie theater shooting was seeing a psychiatrist has been reposted on a court website with that information blacked out.
The Denver Post first reported the discrepancy. It noted that on Friday, James Holmes’ attorneys filed a motion that revealed the former graduate student at the University of Colorado Denver was seeing university psychiatrist Lynne Fenton. On Tuesday, the motion appeared on the Colorado Judicial Branch website with that information redacted.
The revelation that Holmes had been seeing Fenton raised questions about his year of study at the university’s medical campus and about possible motives behind the July 20 shooting that killed 12 people and wounded 58.
An online resume listed schizophrenia as one of Fenton’s research interests.
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.
State Court administrator spokesman Rob McCallum said Wednesday the document was redacted and reposted by an Arapahoe County District Court clerk to comply with Sylvester’s order to seal documents. He declined to say if anyone directly involved in the case ordered the redactions.
Media attorney Steven Zansberg said state law requires some details be blacked out in public records, including mental health records, and that it’s up to a court clerk to see that the rules are followed.
In this case, Zansberg said, “The cat is out of the bag.”
A hearing on the defense motion is set for Aug. 16. A hearing on a motion by news media organizations to unseal the court docket has been scheduled for Aug. 9.
Holmes was charged Monday with two first-degree murder charges for each of the 12 people killed and two attempted first-degree murder charges for every one of the 58 injured. The maximum penalty for a first-degree murder conviction is death. The multiple charges expand the opportunities for prosecutors to obtain convictions.