Theater massacre suspect appears in Colorado courtroom

James Holmes in Arapahoe County Court facing charges for the Theater Massacre in Colorado(photo: NBC News)

Written by NBC News

James Eagan Holmes appeared in court for the first time Monday after he was arrested last week in the deaths of 12 people in a mass shooting at a sold-out movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

The hearing was held to advise Holmes, 24, of his rights. Official charges aren't filed at a so-called "advisement" hearing; under Colorado law, prosecutors will now have 72 hours to file charges, but in especially complicated cases, judges have the leeway to give them more time.

Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester told Holmes he was accused of having killed 12 people and wounded 58 others early Friday in a crowded theater was showing the premiere of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."

Sylvester set a hearing on formal charges for next Monday at 9:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. ET). Holmes wearing a red prison jump suit, said nothing during the hearing. He mostly looked down at the table under a shock of dyed bright red hair and occasionally raising his eyebrows in a quizzical expression.

When Holmes was arrested early Friday, he told police he was the Joker. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Sunday that investigators had found a Batman mask inside Holmes' apartment.

Investigators found the mask after they finished clearing the home of booby traps and ammunition, a law enforcement official close to the investigation said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the news media.