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The spiral notebook entitled “(Course) of My Life” was James Holmes’ last statement to the world…a 29 page manifesto revealing his plans and reasons. It was a treasure-hunt of clues. For instance, it was mailed with American Scientist stamps, even though he had dropped out of the neuroscience program at the University of Colorado.

A post-it note stuck to the front had a drawing of an infinity sign with a circle with the number 1 inside. On the back of the note was written: “How what when where why?”

Towards the end, there were 5 or 6 pages written with the question “Why?” starting small and getting bigger until an entire page was filled with one word.

The theater shooter had a sense of humor. Sometimes it was silly, as in the case of the “Let me mullet-over” cartoon he sent his neuroscience professor.

The killer’s humor could be dark, as in the 400 burned 20 dollar bills he placed in the notebook he sent his psychiatrist. But the money….why burn it? Some believe it could be a reference to a scene in The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger’s brilliant-but-creepy Joker tells the Mafia, as a pile of money burns behind them, “It’s not about money. It’s about sending a message. Everything burns!!!!”

[video:https://youtu.be/HqcbgSpHMFs]

“You see I’m a guy of simple tastes. I enjoy dynamite and gunpowder and gasoline!” ~ The Joker
The defendant stocked his apartment with home-made fire-starter chemicals, gunpowder, and gasoline designed to blow up.

Was the gunman sending his own message with the burnt 20’s, ala: The Joker from the 2008 Batman movie?

Holmes did state that he had a message of his own. In the notebook, read aloud today in court by Aurora Police Sergeant Matt Fyles, that message is this:

“The message is, there is no message. Most fools will misinterpret correlation for causation. Namely relationship and work failures as causes. Both were expediting catalysts, not the reason. The causation being my state of mind for the past 15 years.” ~ James Holmes

In other words, the defendant didn’t suddenly decide to commit mass murder because some woman broke up with him, nor was it because he was failing in school. Only fools, he writes, would see things as simply as that. This horrible act, he’s saying, was a long time in the making. And this is the key to this trial. Prosecutors will say the defendant took his frustrated out at being a loser in love and school on defenseless people. But that’s not it, JH says in the notebook. It’s more than that. He’d been having homicidal thoughts since he was a sophomore in high school.

That’s what HE says. But all that matters in the end is whether the jury decides that’s a good excuse.