AURORA THEATER KILLER TRANSFERRED TO FEDERAL CUSTODY

The Colorado Department of Corrections on Wednesday said James Holmes, sentenced to life in prison for murdering 12 people and wounding dozens of others, has been transferred to federal prison.

“The State sought to place the inmate in the Federal System several months ago, but placement required finding space at a facility that could provide appropriate security,” the department said in a news release. “That space recently became available and the move to the Federal prison was secured.”

Late Wednesday, the federal Bureau of Prisons had not announced where Holmes was transferred.

Holmes, who is serving 12 consecutive life sentences as well as an additional 3,000 years, was transferred out of state in January 2016, a few months after he was attacked at a maximum-security prison in Colorado in an incident that also injured a guard. Holmes was sentenced in August 2015 for the July 2012 Aurora theater shooting.

Holmes’ whereabouts after sentencing were shrouded in secrecy. State prison officials refused to disclose where he was being held, causing public controversy and deep concern for survivors and their families.

In June 2016, after two hours of debate, the Department of Public Safety’s Victims Rights Act Subcommittee split 3-3 over whether the Colorado corrections was breaking the law by refusing to tell theater shooting victims of Holmes’ location. The deadlock kept the secretive location at status quo.

Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler, the lead prosecutor in the theater shooting case, said Wednesday night that he hopes Holmes will be back in Colorado.

“My great hope is he’ll be moved to Colorado in federal custody,” Brauchler said. “He can serve out the remainder of his life under Colorado skies, where he committed his crimes.”