Jury selection began Monday in the long-delayed trial for the man charged with killing 10 people in the 2021 mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 25, is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder in the attack at the Table Mesa store, as well as more than 100 other charges.
He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, meaning that his attorneys do not contest that he carried out the mass shooting but say he should not be held legally responsible because he was so mentally ill at the time of the killings that he could not tell right from wrong.
The trial will focus on Alissa’s mental state at the time of the attack, rather than whether or not he carried out the mass shooting.
Alissa’s attorneys argued in a hearing earlier this month that his comments to police officers in the chaotic moments after the killings should not be allowed as evidence in the jury trial because he had not been advised of his right to remain silent.
Boulder County District Court Chief Judge Ingrid Bakke ruled against the defense in an order last week, finding that Alissa’s comments were voluntary and not coerced by police officers.
Defense attorneys had also argued that jurors should not hear about Alissa’s long road to becoming competent to stand trial, and Bakke agreed, ruling that testimony about Alissa’s years of mental illness after the attack — his competency — do not factor into whether he was insane at the time of the attack. Jurors will not hear about Alissa’s competency treatment, Bakke ruled.
Those killed in the March 22, 2021, shooting: Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Teri Leiker, 51; Boulder police Officer Eric Talley, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.
Jury selection is expected to last all week, with opening statements likely to come after Labor Day. The trial is expected to last three weeks.
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