A sentencing hearing for the man who pleaded guilty to killing seven people during the July 4 parade in Highland Park will take place this week.
Robert Crimo III pleaded guilty in connection to the case in early March, and will now face a sentencing hearing where he faces the possibility of being sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
That hearing will begin on Wednesday, and could take several days as victims deliver impact statements in connection with the high-profile case.
In early March, Crimo pleaded guilty to 21 counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection to the 2022 shooting, which targeted Highland Park’s annual Fourth of July parade.
Crimo’s plea came just as the jury in the case had been installed by a judge, and prosecutors said the change of plea was not made in connection with any type of agreement.
“Let me be clear, this was not a negotiation, this was not a deal,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said during a press conference following the hearing. “He made a free decision to plead guilty to every single count. He received nothing in exchange for this plea today.”
Crimo had previously indicated he would accept a plea deal but then had reversed course, a move that surprised even his defense attorneys.
His behavior throughout the criminal proceeding had captured attention and continued to do so during jury selection, as he periodically refused to leave his jail cell and only sporadically appeared in court.
Prior to the start of the trial, prosecutors submitted thousands of pages of evidence, along with hours of footage of Crimo’s interrogation where they argued he had confessed to the shooting.
His father was also charged in connection to his son getting a gun license, and pleaded guilty in 2023 to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct. He served just over a month in prison.
The victims killed in the shooting included 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.
In all, seven people died and 48 others were wounded in the shooting.
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