The trial against admitted Colorado movie theater shooter James Holmes came to a halt Tuesday when the judge dismissed three jurors and had them escorted out of the courtroom.
The decision by Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. was made after one juror claimed another juror had been watching news coverage and talking about the case with two other jurors.
The three jurors dismissed were Juror 872, described as a white woman in her 20s or 30s with three kids; Juror 412, a white woman in her 20s or 30s who works in information technology for a mental health company; and Juror 495, a white woman in her late 20s to early 30s.
According to Juror 673, it was Juror 872 who had discussed the case with the two other jurors outside of court — at least once last week and once as recently as Monday.
Juror 872 had spoken about how District Attorney George Brauchler accidentally tweeted a message from inside the court and was aware that the defense team previously asked for a mistrial — incidents that did not occur in front of the jurors and therefore, they shouldn't have known about.
Juror 673 also said Juror 872 discussed these findings with jurors 412 and 495 on the patio outside of the jury room.
Samour said Tuesday that he felt Juror 673 was credible, and thanked her for doing the "right thing" and coming forward. Juror 673 was not dismissed.
The judge has repeatedly told jurors not to read news reports or material on social media about the trial and not to discuss the case among themselves or with others.
Holmes, a 27-year-old California native, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to multiple counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and explosives charges stemming from the shooting rampage in July 2012 at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater.
Twelve people were killed and 70 others were injured. Holmes' lawyers say he suffers from schizophrenia.
