James Eagan Holmes Biography

James Eagan Holmes was born in San Diego, California on December 13, 1987. His father Robert was a mathematician and his mother Arlene was a homemaker who spent her spare time doing community service. He was a loving brother to his younger sister Chris. They went on family vacations to Disneyland, the mountains, and the beach. He was an academic overachiever and his report cards were usually straight A’s. Family, friends, teachers, and coaches described him as someone who did not pick fights, he was quiet and always tried to blend into the background. He was called a “Renaissance child” by his fifth grade teacher because he would finish his assignments and then write code and build a website for his school. By middle school he was one of the top five “Warcraft III” video game players in the world. During middle school the Holmes family moved from Castroville to San Diego. This is when he became more withdrawn and spent more time in his room. His mother went door to door looking for kids who may want to be friends with James, but nothing worked out. His mother said this is the time he “lost his joy” and felt guilty about not being able to make him happy. The stress of moving, along with his age, is something defense attorneys would later refer to as a

Fenton. There were many disturbing pages such as two full pages of the word, “Why?” written over and over again. The notebook contained ramblings of life, death, and his “broken brain.” He wrote that in order to keep himself from committing suicide, he thought that taking others’ lives would add value to his own. He wrote how social situations caused him great anxiety, mentioned his breakup with his girlfriend, and expressed his hatred toward humanity. The notebook also had diagrams of the theater and he had visited the theater two weeks before the shootings. He brought this plan to action on July 20,