In the search for the Aurora theater shooter, even the Governor of Colorado does not know where he's now held.
Attorneys for survivors of the Aurora theater shooting want to interview the convicted gunman as part of their civil case against Cinemark, the company that owns the Century 16 Theater in Aurora.
The shooter was moved from the San Carlos Correctional Facility in Pueblo before that interview could happen. He was attacked in prison and transferred to an undisclosed prison, for what Denver7 was told were, "security" reasons.
"I don't know where he's been moved to, so I'm not sure where he is," Gov. John Hickenlooper told Denver7 when asked at his weekly media availability on Tuesday afternoon.
"Does your Department of Corrections director (Rick Raemisch) know where he's been moved to?" asked Denver7 political reporter Marshall Zelinger.
"I haven't asked. I can ask. I'd be happy to check into this and see if he knows," said Hickenlooper.
"They just don't care, they don't care about the victims here," said Robert Sullivan, grandfather of Veronica Moser-Sullivan who was killed in the attack.
Sullivan feels the Department of Corrections should be required to inform the victims where Holmes is institutionalized. He said he, and other victims, are angry Holmes has been given a new alias and been afforded similar protections as people in the Witness Protection Program.
"Protect him. It's all about protecting him and that's just not right," Sullivan said. "[When] Jared, with Subway was attacked, did they move him? No. They moved the assailant, they moved the perpetrator."
On Aug. 26, guman James Holmes was sentenced to 12 life sentences plus 3,318 years in prison for killing 12, injuring 70 others and for having explosives at his Aurora home.
Survivors of the theater shooting are suing Cinemark in civil court. The case was put on hold until the shooter's criminal trial ended. In their lawsuit, the survivors claim that Cinemark did not have adequate security on the night "The Dark Knight Rises" premiered. They claim the company did not have alarms on the doors, especially the exit door the shooter used to go to his car and get his arsenal and then reenter the theater. They also claim that employees were not trained on how to handle emergency situations.
In court filings, Cinemark has said that the shooter, over whom they had no control, committed the "unforeseeable acts."
Denver7 asked the Governor if he would help the survivors and their attorneys find and question the shooter.
"Part of the difficulty in that incarceration situation is protecting his life, the inmate's life," said Hickenlooper. "While he's in jail, they're trying to make sure that he's A: He's not going to do more damage outside, and B: That he's not at risk of being attacked or killed."
Hickenlooper said he would be happy to talk to Department of Corrections director Rick Raemisch about this topic.
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