The man who admitted to a 2022 mass shooting at a suburban Chicago Independence Day parade refused to attend his sentencing hearing Thursday, a day after survivors and witnesses gave emotional testimony about how their lives have changed since he killed seven people and hurt dozens more.
Robert E. Crimo III, 24, changed his plea to guilty last month, mere moments before the start of his trial. His case has progressed slowly, in part because of his erratic behavior. He refused on Wednesday and Thursday to attend court despite a judge’s previous warnings that the case would proceed without him.
Keely Roberts, whose 8-year-old son Cooper Roberts was the youngest person wounded and is paralyzed from the waist down, called Crimo “cowardly” for not attending.
“You will not hear my grief,” she said. “You are now irrelevant.”
It is Crimo’s constitutional right not to appear at his sentencing, just as it was his right to skip out on other portions of his trial, said David Erickson, a former state appellate judge who teaches at Chicago Kent College of Law.
While all defendants have that right, it is unusual for them not to attend their trial, especially sentencing, Erickson said.
Crimo also declined to provide a written statement in court ahead of sentencing.
Often in criminal cases involving a violent offense, defendants will take advantage of their right to address the court before sentencing to explain themselves or profess their innocence, he said.
“Certainly in crimes of violence it’s not unusual for a defendant to show some remorse,” Erickson said.
Some survivors called Crimo a “monster” while another cited their faith in forgiving him. Many described feeling empty or facing deep sadness since the shooting. Some no longer attend public gatherings.
Erica Weeder described how she and her husband were injured and helpless on the ground, watching others bleed out. Weeder went through weeks of medical care to remove shrapnel from her body while her husband was shot in the elbow, the bullet lodged there for weeks.
“A mass shooting is like a bomb blast throughout a community,” she said.
Prosecutors argued that Crimo was fully in control of his actions as he fired 83 shots over 40 seconds.
“This was his evil plan. He intended to end the happiness that he saw around him,” said Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart.
Crimo is certain to spend the rest of his life behind bars. He pleaded guilty to 21 counts of first-degree murder — three counts for each person killed — and 48 counts of attempted murder. Each first-degree murder count carries a maximum life sentence in Illinois.
But even in his absence, prosecutors made sure Crimo’s own words about the attack took center stage ahead of Judge Victoria Rossetti’s sentencing decision.
They used the first day of the hearing to reveal parts of the trove of evidence prepared for trial, including key parts of Crimo’s videotaped confession.
In a recording of the police interview, which defense attorneys tried to have thrown out, a blank-faced Crimo slumped in a chair with arms crossed. He told officers that he briefly reconsidered the attack because of a problem with the gun. He later fixed the weapon.
“I walked up the stairs, jumped on the roof and opened fire,” he said.
Crimo was calm and cavalier, even laughing and joking, said Brian Bodden, a Highland Park police officer.
Prosecutors recreated the horror of the day in the upscale community of about 30,000 people north of Chicago, showing video taken along the parade route and asking witnesses to recount the terrifying aftermath of the attack.
In one video, a marching band played “You’re a Grand Old Flag” before shots were fired. Musicians carrying instruments ran as emergency sirens blared, fleeing along with other attendees.
Many cried during the testimony, while others put their arms around each other inside the Lake County courtroom.
The seven people killed were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; and married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35.
Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., a former mayoral candidate, was charged in connection with how his son obtained a gun license. He pleaded guilty in 2023 to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct. He served less than two months in jail.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.