Defense attorneys concluded their case Wednesday after the defendant elected not to testify, and closing arguments in the Boulder King Soopers mass shooting case are set for Friday.

Defendant Ahmad Alissa pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to 10 counts of first-degree murder, 38 counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault, six counts of felony possession of a prohibited large capacity magazine, and 38 crime-of-violence sentence enhancers in connection with the shooting.

Alissa said Wednesday he will not be testifying in the case.

The final witnesses who took the stand Wednesday for the defense included the defendant’s younger brother, a cultural psychiatrist and a forensic psychologist.

Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Teri Leiker, 51; Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65, were killed in the shooting.

On Thursday, the jury and defendant will not be in the courtroom while attorneys debate jury instructions. The instructions will be read at 8 a.m. Friday before closing statements. The jury is expected to begin deliberation Friday afternoon.

‘He was there but not there’

The defense first called Mahmoud Alissa to the stand, the defendant’s younger brother.

Mahmoud Alissa said when his brother was in his senior year he started to withdraw, he didn’t talk to his friends or family and he stayed in his room.

From 2020 through 2021, Mahmoud Alissa said the defendant only mumbled.

“He seemed incapable of making a sentence,” Mahmoud Alissa said before describing him as sloppy, forgetful, not talkative. “Like he was there but not there.”

Mahmoud Alissa said he thinks that on the day of the shooting his brother couldn’t decipher right from wrong.

District Attorney Michael Dougherty took the same approach with the defendant’s younger brother during cross examination as he has with other siblings.

“Fair to say you don’t want anything bad to happen to your brother?” Dougherty asked.

Mahmoud Alissa hesitated before answering, “I want what’s right to happen.”

Mahmoud Alissa spoke to hearing Alissa talking gibberish and laughing to himself the morning of the shooting.

“You didn’t take any action at that moment in time to make sure he was safe and okay?” Dougherty asked.

Mahmoud Alissa responded, “Because there was no evidence of him being violent.”

Dougherty cited the FBI interviews multiple times about what Mahmoud Alissa did and didn’t tell the police.

“I can’t remember everything in a conversation that was four years ago,” Mahmoud said.

Mahmoud Alissa said that his brother is responsible for his actions and the jury should focus on “the why.”

“These things happen a lot in America but I never thought this would happen to us,” Mahmoud said.

‘Mental illness is very heavily stigmatized in the Middle East’

Dr. Ahmad Adi, a cultural psychiatrist, was called to the stand to testify about how mental illness is perceived in Middle Eastern cultures.

Adi is of Syrian descent and was called to testify as a blind witness, meaning he had no involvement in the case but was there to answer questions about mental health in different cultures.

“Mental illness is very heavily stigmatized in the Middle East,” Adi said. “There’s a big fear in Middle Eastern cultures of how an individual might be perceived.”

Adi said gender roles in the Middle East tend to be more rigid.

“Typically men have a harder time telling others they’re struggling with mental illness,” Adi said. He continued that men are considered leaders and therefore are not to show signs of weakness.

Adi added that people who say they’re struggling with mental illness may be told they’re not religious enough or that they’re possessed.

On cross examination, Dougherty noted that Syria has a low suicide rate. Adi said the data may be impacted by the stigmatization of suicide in Syria but agreed with Dougherty.

Dougherty also asked about what can lead to someone becoming more assimilated and referenced specific things about Ahmad Alissa’s case, such as his family having a restaurant and him being in an American school.

“Mental heath treatment and lack thereof crosses all cultures,” Dougherty said after noting other mass shooters who have been born and raised in America.

‘Remarkably psychotic. Remarkably ill’

Dr. Joshua Hatfield, a clinical and forensic psychologist, who met with Ahmad Alissa from March through August of 2021, was next to the stand.

Hatfield explained how Ahmad Alissa appeared during the first meeting shortly after the shooting.

“He was completely exposed and didn’t seem to have any worries,” Hatfield said in regard to Ahmad Alissa’s suicide smock. “There was no emotion there, he was flat and just kind of vacant.”

Hatfield said Alissa had wide eyes, poor hygiene, his eyes darted around the room, he didn’t talk and didn’t smile. He described him as, “Remarkably psychotic. Remarkably ill.”

“I don’t think he understood how sick he was,” Hatfield said. “I don’t think he expressed a need, or want, or desire to take meds.”

Hatfield confirmed that he diagnosed the defendant with schizophrenia.

During cross-examination, Dougherty has asked Hatfield if someone’s mental health would be impacted if they were isolated in jail. Dougherty said the defendant never had a cellmate, didn’t go out to exercise and for a time ate food in a separate area from the food court. Hatfield agreed it could be detrimental.

Hatfield confirmed that he reviewed Ahmad Alissa’s medical records from before the shooting. Dougherty said nothing suggested the presence of mental illness in those records, which Hatfield confirmed.

Dougherty confirmed with Hatfield that Ahmad Alissa was showering and bathing on a regular basis, paying his bills on his own and was financially independent before the shooting.

Hatfield confirmed that Ahmad Alissa asked for the death penalty.

“He seemed upset when we told him there was no death penalty anymore,” Hatfield said.

‘The defendant did not want to leave their mortality to chance’

The prosecution called one rebuttal witness to the stand prior to the afternoon break.

Dr. Ian Lamoureux, a forensic psychiatrist who was hired by the prosecution to review all the evidence and offer a second opinion of the defendant’s sanity, told the jury Wednesday that he found Ahmad Alissa to be sane at the time of the shooting after reviewing about 300 hours of evidence.

Lamoureux said there were no signs that Alissa had auditory hallucinations during the shooting.

“(He looked) very purposeful, intentional and deliberate in his actions,” Lamoureux said, recalling the video surveillance. “I didn’t notice any confusion. Everything was almost robotic with a lot of practice.”

Lamoureux explained that he believed the defendant was sane and knew the shooting was wrong because he took an ambush position when police arrived and told evaluators he intended to die and didn’t want to be taken to jail.

“He understood that the victims were in fact people,” Lamoureux said. “He never expressed any doubt there.”

Lamoureux added that the pharmacist’s testimony that the shooter said, “This is fun!” during the shooting indicates the possibility of personal gratification or thrill for the shooting. He also said intent could be determined through the number of times and locations that each victim was shot as well as cellphone evidence showing plans to commit the shooting.

“The defendant did not want to leave their mortality to chance,” Lamoureux said.

Lamoureux said it would be “incredibly unlikely” if a defendant was thinking rationally and planned to commit a crime that they would have then experienced a psychotic break at the time of the crime.

“I concluded that the defendant would be legally sane at the time of the offenses on March 22, 2021,” Lamoureux said.