GROSSETO, Italy (AP) — The captain of the cruise ship that crashed into an Italian reef appeared in court Monday to hear the evidence against him, while passengers who survived the deadly shipwreck and the families of those who died showed up just "to look him in the eye."

The case of Francesco Schettino, 51, was of such interest that a theater had to be turned into a courtroom in the Tuscan city of Grosseto to accommodate those who had a legitimate claim to be at the closed-door hearing.

Wearing dark glasses and a suit, Schettino used a back entrance to slip into the theater, making no comment to reporters outside. Lawyers said he listened intently to the proceedings, where his attorneys raised some objections to the evidence being submitted.