Prosecutors: Holmes threatened prof before theater attack

By The Associated Press   Reuters Colorado shooting suspect James Eagan Holmes makes his first court appearance in Aurora, Colorado on July 23. The suspect in a deadly movie theater attack in Colorado threatened a professor before the shooting, leading the university to ban him from campus, prosecutors said in court documents released Friday. The name of the person James Eagan Holmes threatened has been blacked out. Prosecutors say the person reported the threats, and Holmes was denied access to campus "as a result of these actions." In other documents, defense attorneys say the prosecutors' allegations are false, based on university statements. The University of Colorado has said Holmes was denied access to non-public parts of the campus because he had withdrawn from school. After weeks of secrecy surrounding the case, most of the documents filed in court were released to the public on Friday. Holmes, 24, faces 152 charges in the July 20 shooting at an Aurora movie theater during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises." The attack killed 12 people and injured 58 others. Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com Defense attorneys claim Holmes is mentally ill and sought the help of a university psychiatrist before the shooting, raising the possibility that Holmes will plead not guilty by reason of insanity. In court, prosecutors raised the prospect that Holmes was angry at the failure of a once promising academic career and stockpiled weapons, ammunition, tear gas grenades, and body armor as his research deteriorated and professors urged him to get into another profession. Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Pearson said Holmes failed a key oral exam in June, was banned from campus and began to voluntarily withdraw from the school. Key information in the case gleaned from previous court documents includes: Confirmation that Holmes sent a package to CU psychiatrist Lynne Fenton. In the document, defense attorneys Daniel King and Tamara Brady described Fenton as Holmes' psychiatrist, although prosecutors have said that their doctor-patient relationship ended on June 11, weeks before the attack. The package contains a notebook that reportedly includes descriptions and drawings of an attack, but Fenton said she never saw the notebook. Information from prosecutors that Holmes in March spoke with another student about killing people "when his life was over." Prosecutors and defense attorneys had asked that court documents be sealed to preserve an ongoing investigation and protect Holmes' right to a fair trial. Sylvester ordered that some information in the documents that will be released have information blacked out to protect the identities of witnesses. Documents that won't be released include an arrest affidavit, which contains information about the investigation, as well as requests for search warrants and subpoenas. In his order, Sylvester noted that some information contained in court documents had been divulged in court and placing limits on what's released balances the public's First Amendment rights to see the court file, and prosecutors' and defense attorneys' concerns. More content from NBCNews.com: Cops: Man kills suspected burglar, then learns it's his teen son Five dead after workplace shooting in Minneapolis Summer's over, but drought persists; two-thirds of contiguous US affected Lucky 13 brings $202 million for Powerball ticket sold in Iowa Authorities hunting for 73-year-old accused of killing his daughter-in-law Video: Helmet camera captures soldier shot in firefight Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook Follow Kari Huus on Facebook © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.