'James Holmes Mask' Removed From eBay As Suspected 'Dark Knight' Shooter Is Given Additional Charges

Earlier this week, a Halloween mask of Holmes’ disarming stare and dyed orange hair was posted for sale on eBay.

The Detroit Free Press reported that Holmes sat stoically during Thursday’s 75-minute court hearing, which also saw prosecutors amend five counts against him. It’s been widely speculated that Holmes will plead not guilty by reason of insanity, although the start date of the trial itself still seems to be months away.

A Colorado judge ruled Thursday that a hearing to determine whether police investigators leaked information to the media had been pushed back to Oct. 25. Another pre-trial hearing could be delayed until January.

Prosecutors in the case told the judge Thursday that they could be ready to enter court within a month, but the defense team was less confident.

“We have not begun to understand the nature and depth of Mr. Holmes’ mental illness,” public defender Daniel King told CBS News. “Many witnesses are in hiding because of the conduct of the media in this case.”

The defense team also said it needed to review 19,000 pages of evidence and decide what would be fit to be mentioned at a preliminary hearing.

Holmes has also been in the headlines for news outside of his trial, as an eBay user known only as “realface13” posted a listing for a James Holmes Halloween mask. The ad read that the mask would “Shock everyone you know!” and that “There is nothing more scary than crawling into James Holmes mind and wearing his face. His ‘soul penetrating eyes’ and ‘The Joker’ orange hair makes this mask the most disturbing object you will ever own.”

The mask was listed only for a few hours before eBay removed the line item, according to ABC News. The seller claimed to have won the mask in a high-stakes game of poker in Europe. The product was listed at an original price of $500 but there were no bids when it became unavailable.  

“The listing was removed because it did not comply with our offensive materials policy,” eBay told ABC. “Out of respect for victims of violent crimes, eBay does not allow listings that attempt to profit from human tragedy or suffering.”