Jury selection is slated to begin Monday in the trial of an Illinois man who allegedly opened fire on a Highland Park Fourth of July parade in 2022, killing seven people and wounding dozens more.
Robert Crimo III faces more than 100 charges, including 21 counts of first degree murder, as CrimeOnline reported.
Crimo’s trial has been delayed several times, first because he wanted to fire his public defenders and represent himself (he reversed that decision) and later when he backed out of a deal that would have seen him plead guilty to about half the charges, WMAQ reported.
Robert Crimo Jr., the suspect’s father, pleaded guilty in November 2023 to seven counts of misdemeanor reckless conduct for helping his son buy the rifle he used in the mass shooting, despite a relative reporting to police that Crimo III had threatened to “kill everyone” and himself. Crimo Jr. issued a statement saying he loves his son and supports “his decision to go trial in this case.”
“Like any human being in this country, Bobby deserves the presumption of innocence and a fair trial,” Crimo Jr. said in his statement. N”o matter what happens, you will always be my son.”
Investigators say surveillance footage and witnesses will show how Crimo III climbed a fire escape and opened fire, then escaped the scene disguised as a woman, likely an attempt to hide his obvious facial tattoos. Authorities say he confessed to police but has now retracted that confession.
After the shooting, Crimo III walked to his mother’s nearby home and borrowed her car, apparently intending to go to another holiday celebration in Wisconsin and kill more people, but he changed his mind and returned to Illinois.
Killed in the attack were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Irina McCarthy, 35; Kevin McCarthy, 37; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69.
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[Featured image: Robert Crimo III/Lake County Major Crime Task Force via AP]