The convicted shooter in the 2022 Highland Park Fourth of July Parade, Robert Crimo III, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Thursday.
Judge Victoria Rossetti listened to testimony and victim statements over the past two days. Rossetti gave the shooter seven consecutive life sentences for the murder convictions, plus 50 years for each of the 48 attempted murder charges.
Crimo was not in court as the sentence was announced, but an unrelated issue inside the jail regarding the shooter caused a brief recess during the judge’s sentencing. After a recess of about 45 minutes, the shooter decided not to come into court after all, and the sentencing continued.
On Wednesday and Thursday, survivors of the mass shooting, joined by their families, sat in the courtroom as witnesses answered questions and recounted the day. First responders and a victim of the shooting spoke on the first day of sentencing.
A shooting survivor spoke on Thursday on behalf of herself and her late husband. Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart shared a closing statement about the shooter’s impact on the Highland Park community.
The shooter pleaded guilty last month to 21 counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of attempted first-degree murder just moments before opening statements were set to begin in his trial.
Those who were killed in the shooting included 64-year-old Katherine Goldstein, 35-year-old Irina McCarthy, 37-year-old Kevin McCarthy, 63-year-old Jacquelyn Sundheim, 88-year-old Stephen Straus, 78-year-old Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, and 69-year-old Eduardo Uvaldo.
Another 48 people were wounded in the shooting, including Cooper Roberts, then 8, who was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Highland Park gunman skips sentencing hearing
The convicted shooter was told multiple times that his trial and now his sentencing would happen with or without him, and he chose not to attend his sentencing.
Still witnesses and victims one by one took the stand on an emotional day for everyone in the courtroom.
Retired Highland Park Police Commander Gerry Cameron, who was at the scene of the shooting, and led the investigation into the attack, talked about personally transporting three people to the hospital after Crimo started shooting – killing seven people and wounding 48 others.
Highland Park resident Dana Ruder Ring took the stand. She was at the parade with her husband and three children.
Crimo repeatedly failed to attend court proceedings in his case before ultimately pleading guilty. During the three days of jury selection, he was only in court for the first half of each of the first two days, and was not in court at all on the final day of jury selection.
