Abortion Clinic Shooting Suspect In Court

A man accused of killing three people at a Colorado abortion clinic has made his first appearance in court.

Robert Lewis Dear appeared on a video link from El Paso County Criminal Justice Center, where he has been held since surrendering following a five-hour siege at the Planned Parenthood centre in Colorado Springs.

Wearing a padded vest and with his hands and legs shackled, Dear gazed at the floor for most of the hearing as relatives of the victims watched from the courtroom.

The court heard he faces first-degree murder charges.

When asked by Judge Gilbert Martinez if he understood his rights, the 57-year-old replied: "No questions."

Officials have said Dear told authorities "no more baby body parts" during a rambling statement after he was arrested.

But acquaintances have described Dear as a reclusive loner who did not seem to hold strong political or social opinions.

Public defender Daniel King, who represented Colorado cinema gunman James Holmes, will act as Dear's lawyer.

The suspect is expected to be formally charged on 9 December.

After the hearing on Monday, District Attorney Dan May said he could face other charges.

Iraq War veteran Ke'Arre Stewart, 29; mother-of-two Jennifer Markovsky, 36 and University of Colorado police officer Garrett Swasey, 44, were killed in the shooting .

The El Paso County Coroner's Office said all three victims died from a gunshot wound.

The names of the nine people injured during the shooting have not been released.

Police records show Dear was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in South Carolina in 1992.

He was arrested in North Charleston on a charge of criminal sexual conduct after a woman said he put a knife to her neck, forced her into her apartment and sexually assaulted her after hitting her in the mouth.

The outcome of that charge is unknown.