1st Ld: Colorado movie theater shooter sentenced to life in prison

Colorado movie shooter James Holmes was on Friday spared the death penalty but would serve life behind bars with no parole for killing a dozen people and wounding 70 more inside a packed midnight showing of a Batman film three years ago.

Holmes was found guilty of 164 counts of murder and attempted murder.

The jury announced the decision after hearings by 306 witnesses, including first responders, family members of the victims, and even the parents of the mass murderer. A total of 2,695 pieces of evidence were presented to the jury during the trial of the past three months.

Families and friends of the victims sobbed in dismay, as the jury surprised the experts by giving the former Ph.D. neuroscience graduate student life in prison instead of death penalty as many predicted.

Holmes' mother wept quietly when the decision was read out.

Several family members of the victims left the court angrily upon hearing the verdict.

Referring why Holmes was not given the death penalty, Judge Carlos Samour Jr. stated that "We the jury do not have a unanimous, final sentencing verdict on this count and we the jury understand that as a result the court will impose a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole."

On July 20, 2012, Holmes, brandishing three weapons and dressed from head-to-toe in body armor, walked through the exit door of the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, the state of Colorado, which was showing the midnight premier of "The Dark Knight Rises," and unleashed hundreds of bullets into the unsuspecting audience. Endite