BOULDER — A Boulder County jury on Monday found Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa guilty of 55 crimes in the March 2021 mass shooting at a King Soopers in which 10 people died.
Alissa killed 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.
Family and friends of the victims cried as the judge read the first guilty verdict. Police officers in the courtroom took deep breaths and sighed as the guilty count was read for their fallen colleague.
Alissa fidgeted in his seat, sipped water and talked with his lawyer as Boulder County District Judge Ingrid Bakke read the verdict. His family sat stoically behind him.
The charges included 10 counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree murder of a peace officer and 38 counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Alissa’s lawyers never disputed that he was the shooter but they tried to convince the jury that he was insane and could not tell right from wrong at the time of the shooting. Alissa was diagnosed with schizophrenia after the mass shooting and suffered auditory and visual hallucinations for several years leading up to the attack. His defense team said he was hearing voices that told him to carry out the shooting.
The jury started its deliberations in the mid-afternoon Friday but took a break for the weekend. They resumed deliberations at 9 a.m. Monday at the Boulder County Justice Center and had a verdict by 12:30 p.m. Monday.
Testimony lasted 10 days as people inside the grocery store described the terror of gunshots zipping through the store. People took cover under checkout counters while others hid in the deli, bakery, coffee stand and offices.
One 79-year-old woman testified that she fell and broke vertebrae. She prayed until a man lifted her and carried her to safety. A mom and son, who were buying strawberries and tea, waited until they heard Alissa reload before running out of the grocery.
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Alissa’s parents testified that his behavior was strange before the attack and they thought he could be possessed by an evil spirit. He suffered from paranoia and delusion, experts testified.
But the jury did not buy arguments that Alissa was incapable of knowing right from wrong when he purchased an automatic gun and ammunition, scouted locations to carry out a massacre and then reloaded inside the grocery store.