On July 20, 2012, 24-year-old James Holmes (whilst dressed in tactical clothing and bright orange dyed hair) set off tear gas grenades and shot multiple firearms into the Aurora, Colorado Century 16 movie theater midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises audience.  His actions led to the death of 12 people and injuring 70 others; 58 of whom were injured from gunfire.  In this episode, Heather sits down with award winning author and attorney Kerrie Droban to discuss her latest book, Aurora: The Psychiatrist Who Treated the Movie Theater Killer Tells Her Story.  In their book, Dr Lynn Fenton; the psychiatrist who treated James Holmes, and Kerrie Droban take you into the minds of a mass shooter (James Holmes) and his psychiatrist (Dr. Lynn Fenton) and how she was affected long-term.  Kerrie shares her experience with writing the book, working with/interviewing Dr. Fenton, as well as what she learned about Holmes based on his thoughts, actions, and treatment sessions with Fenton. Kerrie highlights the fact that Holmes was actively getting help when he executed his tragic plan to kill dozens of people. She shares that this is proof that there is no blueprint when it comes to identifying when someone may do something so extreme. We can ask all the questions. We can report all the odd behaviors. But at the end of the day, we are all still learning about the criminal psyche and need to apply our knowledge and understanding to each situation on a case by case basis.   We may never be able to predict and stop every single criminal who decides that they want to be a mass shooter/mass killer.  But we can take what we learn from cases like Holmes’ and apply it to try and prevent future tragedies.  Most often, these criminals are incredibly manipulative and calculating. “Let’s not forget; every psychopath is a narcissist. Every sociopath is a narcissist. But not every narcissist is a psychopath or sociopath.” -Kerrie Droban Kerrie’s goal with writing true crime books: The goal of writing these books, for Kerrie, is to expose, to educate, to inform, and to give that platform to the victims and their loved ones. A platform for them to tell their story and celebrate the lives of these people.  It is difficult to read but it’s insightful and the more that we talk about it and keep the conversation going; keep the memory alive.  Learn more about Kerrie, her books, her speaking engagements, and her writing workshops: https://www.kerriedroban.com/ Buy Aurora: The Psychiatrist Who Treated the Movie Theater Killer Tells Her Story https://a.co/d/fd5QsWF

Author Kerrie Droban on "Aurora" and James Holmes

Get Started

Download the App