DENVER 聴 The Colorado theatre shooting suspect left a good impression on people he met in his pursuit of a neuroscience career, with a reference describing him as having a 聯great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity.聰That account came in a recommendation letter sent to the University of Illinois聮 neuroscience program as part of James Holmes聮 application to the school last year. The names of those who wrote the letter were blacked out.The letter and all of the university聮s documents related to Holmes were provided to The Associated Press on Friday after an open records request. The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill., first obtained the documents.Colorado theatre shooting suspect James Holmes declined to attend a highly selective neuroscience programthe University of Illinois, and instead attended the University of Colorado, Denver, until he dropped out in June. He gave no reason for declining the Illinois offer, and no reason for dropping out in Colorado.University of Colorado officials have declined to release Holmes聮 records, citing a Colorado judge聮s gag order that does not apply to other states.Holmes is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 in the attack during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie. Holmes attorneys say that he is mentally ill.Letters, his resume and a personal statement written by Holmes paint a picture a bright student who was committed to pursuing a career as cognitive neuroscientist.聯Researching learning and memory interests me because these are the very cognitive processes which enable us to acquire information and retain it,聰 he wrote in his personal statement. 聯They are at the core of what distinguishes us as people.聰In recommendation letters, Holmes is described as being in the top 1 per cent of his honours classes with a cumulative grade point average of 3.949.聯He takes an active role in his education, and brings a great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity into the classroom,聰 one recommendation letter reads. 聯James received excellent evaluations from the professors and graduate students with whom he worked and was mentored.聰Another letter describes him as 聯a very effective group leader聰 on assignments.That description is a stark contrast to his demeanour in court, where he seems dazed, looking straight ahead and avoiding eye contact with those sitting in the courtroom.As part of his application, Holmes submitted a picture of himself standing next to a llama. It聮s unclear whether he submitted the photo as a way to make his application stand out, but it seemed to work.Samuel Beshers, neuroscience program co-ordinator, referred to Holmes as 聯llama聰 in emails. Beshers did not return a message left at the school.聯Your personal and professional qualities are truly outstanding,聰 and 聯you will be an excellent match for our program,聰 read the letter accepting Holmes into the program after the school paid his travel expenses for a visit.At least two researchers were vying for Holmes to join their laboratories, and the school offered him a stipend $22,600 per year and free tuition.Holmes sent an email to the school declining their offer.聯My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused,聰 he wrote. 聯Best wishes in your candidate search.聰
