- Robert Crimho III is scheduled to go to trial Monday for a massive shooting at the 2022 Independence Day Parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
- Crimyo faces attempted murders of 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of murder, and 48 counts.
- Police said Crimyo confessed to the shooting while questioning on videotape, but the 24-year-old later pleaded not guilty.
The trial of a man in the Chicago suburb was accused of massive shootings at the 2022 Independence Day Parade, which killed seven people and injured dozens more.
Robert Crimyo III faces 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts for each person murdered, and 48 attempted murder. Prosecutors dropped the worsening battery of 48 counts before the ju judge's choice last week.
The road to trial is bumpy and partially delayed due to Crimyo's unpredictability, including a refusal to plea deal that surprised his lawyer. After a potential ju apprentice was questioned last week, he appeared sporadically in court, sometimes refusing to leave his prison cell.
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Authorities claimed Crimyo was perched on the roof and fired fire at a crowd gathered for the annual July 4 parade in downtown Highland Park, 30 miles north of Chicago.
Prosecutors provided thousands of pages of evidence and time for videotape interrogation, where police say Crimyo confessed to the shooting. However, the 24-year-old later pleaded not guilty.
His defense attorney declined to comment prior to the trial, which is expected to last for about a month.
Robert E. Crimmy III is monitoring the jury selection process on the first day of his trial in Lake County Courthouse, Waukegan, Illinois, February 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, pool, file)
His father, Robert Climie Jr., a former mayoral candidate, was charged in connection with how his son obtained a gun license. He pleaded guilty to a count of seven misdemeanors of reckless conduct in 2023, taking him less than two months in prison.
He attends his son's hearings and sometimes makes eye contact with him in court. He refused to discuss the case in detail prior to trial.
“As a parent, I love my son so much,” he said. “And Bobby loves this country more than everyone knows.”
Prosecutors plan to call multiple law enforcement officers and survivors of the shooting to testify. They also introduce the police to a video of Crimmy's statement. Some videos have already been shown in court as prosecutors failed to throw them away.
Crimmy's unstable actions contribute to the delay in the court.
He fired his official defender and suddenly turned himself around after saying he would represent himself. In June 2024, when he was expected to accept a plea bargain and give victims and relatives the opportunity to deal with him publicly, he arrived at the court in a wheelchair and refused the deal.
Residents of the wealthy Highland Park community, approximately 30,000 sets along Lake Michigan, lamented the loss deeply. Some potential ju apprentices were excused for connection to the case.
City leaders cancelled their regular parade in 2023 and chose “Community Walk.” Last year, the parade was revived on a different route and revived at a monument for the victims.
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“Our community is once again reminding us of the enormous pain and trauma caused by the shootings in Highland Park,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotelling said in a statement ahead of the ju-degree selection. “Our hearts remain with the victims, their families, and all those whose lives have been forever changed by that devastating day.”
Catherine Goldstein, 64, was the victims killed in the shooting. Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Strauss, 88; Nicholas Toledo Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35;
Survivors and their families have filed multiple lawsuits against the makers of the semi-automatic rifles used in the shooting and authorities accusing them of negligence.
