Matthew Robert “Matt” McQuinn, a 27-year-old man, was enjoying a midnight screening of 'The Dark Knight Rises' at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, on July 20, 2012, when his life was tragically cut short. He was in the theater with his girlfriend, Samantha Yowler, and her brother. What should have been a night of entertainment turned into a scene of terror when a lone gunman entered the theater, set off tear gas grenades, and opened fire on the unsuspecting audience.
In a final act of love and heroism, McQuinn shielded Yowler from the barrage of bullets. He was struck three times and succumbed to his injuries, sacrificing his own life to save hers. Yowler was wounded in the leg but survived, a testament to McQuinn's selfless act. Twelve people lost their lives in the massacre, and dozens more were injured.
The man responsible for this horrific act was 24-year-old James Eagan Holmes, a former neuroscience doctoral student. Dressed in tactical clothing, Holmes was arrested by police without resistance immediately following the shooting, standing by his car behind the theater. Inside his apartment, authorities discovered it was booby-trapped with explosives, which were later defused by a bomb squad.
Holmes confessed to the shooting but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Following a lengthy trial that began in April 2015, he was found guilty on 24 counts of first-degree murder and 140 counts of attempted first-degree murder, among other charges. In August 2015, as the jury could not unanimously agree on the death penalty, Holmes was sentenced to 12 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, in addition to 3,318 years for the attempted murders and explosives charges.
