DENVER (CN) - A mother was paralyzed by a gunshot, lost her 6-year-old daughter and her unborn child. A second mother's son died shielding his bleeding girlfriend with his body. The last thing a third mother heard her son say was, "I love you, Mom." They all testified Wednesday to the jury that must decide whether to sentence James Holmes to death.
Closing arguments were to begin Thursday in the capital trial of James Holmes, who killed 12 people and wounded 70 at the midnight premier of a Batman movie. On Wednesday, family members told the jury about the people Holmes murdered.
Cierra Cowden, 19, said her dad, Gordon, was a World War II buff and loved to play basketball.
"He was pretty little, but he was pretty good at it for a little guy." His basketball team was called The Rejects.
The only time Cierra saw her father cry was when their dog Ditto died.
She was with him in the theater on July 20, 2012, when Holmes killed him. She remembers laughing with her dad during the preview of a Superman movie.
She touched him in the heat of the rampage and immediately knew that he was dead.
"I remember there was a complete uproar of people crying."
Her most difficult memory to bear is of putting her hand on his coffin.
Jerri Jackson then told the jury about her son, Matthew McQuinn, who died trying to shield his girlfriend from the bullets. Matt's death devastated Samantha Yowler, who was wounded, and whom Matt wanted to marry and start a family with.
"It took a couple of months before she could go out in public," Jackson said.
Matt's death also wreaked havoc on his two brothers, one of whom "went through a time that he drank more than he should have," his mother said. "But then, once a certain amount of time went by, he had a whole new outlook and is now focused on keeping his brother's memory alive."
Matthew and his other brother, Chris, were "two peas in a pod."
"They loved to laugh and cut up together," Jackson said. "When Chris's daughter had to have surgery, Matt came over at midnight for that. They were just close."
She said Chris didn't talk much about the shooting "until the trial started. He didn't want to talk about it at all."
She said Matthew's stepfather, her second husband, was closer to him than his biological father was.
"To them it was not a 'step,'" Jackson said. "Dave was there for him, and would do anything for him.
"One night Matt hit a deer at 12:30 and I was getting up to go to him. Dave said, 'Well, I'm not letting you go alone. I'm going to be there for him too.'"
She said her husband now is sometimes "more angry than he used to" be.
"I believe that part of that is because he doesn't have Matt."
The night he died, Matt told his mom on the phone that he was going to the Batman movie, and that he would "just get an energy drink" because he had work at 4 a.m., an hour after the movie ended.
"I said be careful," Jackson said. "He said, 'Oh, Mom, nothing's going to happen.' He said, 'I love you mom.' And that was all."