Suburban Family of Shooting Victim Reacts to Prison Sentence for James Holmes

The family of 27-year-old John Larimer was in the Aurora, Color., courtroom on Friday when a jury opted against sentencing James Holmes to death.

Holmes, who is convicted of shooting and killing Larimer, of Crystal Lake, and 11 others during a midnight showing of the Black Knight Rising in 2012, has been sentenced to life in prison. He also injured 70, including Larimer’s girlfriend, Julia Vojtsek, 26, formerly of Algonquin, who Larimer protected from the gunfire.

Larimer’s mother, Kathleen; his father, Scott; and his four siblings have been in Colorado for months, following the court proceedings, according to the Daily Herald. John Larimer’s maternal grandmother, Joan Lavin, of Woodstock, thought about going to Colorado but said she did not feel brave enough to attend the hearings, according to the Daily Herald.

In response to Friday’s sentencing, Lavin said, “As long as he (Holmes) is never free to hurt anybody else again, I’m satisfied, I guess.”

Scott Larimer told the Daily Herald after Holmes was found guilty in July that he would be satisfied if the jury decided against the death penalty.

“Right now we know for a fact that he won’t walk the face of the earth as a free man ever again,” Scott Larimer told the Daily Herald. “From what I understand, the minimum he can get is 12 life sentences...”

• Crystal Lake Family of Shooting Victim Reacts to Sentencing

The jury on Friday could not reach an unanimous sentencing verdict, which resulted in a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to CNN.

One female juror said it became impossible to resolve disagreements on what the sentence should be, according to the CNN.

“There was one firm holdout against the death penalty and two ... who were on the fence,” the juror, who would not give her name, told CNN. “I don’t know if they could have been swayed or not.”

Kathleen Larimer told the Denver Post she hoped Friday’s sentencing would end the media’s coverage of Holmes.

“I really am sick and tired of seeing a picture with him with the orange hair plastered all over everywhere,” she told the Denver Post.