(NewsReady.com) – Robert Crimo III allegedly shot multiple people attending an Independence Day Parade in 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. The shooting left seven dead and 48 others injured. The accused killer recently rejected a plea agreement.
On June 26, Crimo appeared at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan. The alleged mass murderer was wheeled into the courtroom because he told police that he was so nervous he didn’t know if he’d be able to walk. Judge Victoria Rossetti asked the defendant if was accepting a plea agreement from prosecutors that would allow him to plead guilty to seven counts of murder and 48 counts of aggravated assault in return for a life sentence.
Before Crimo answered, he shrugged and looked over his shoulder at the gallery. The families of the victims and his own were sitting behind him. The families of the victims were furious and said he was taunting them. The defendant’s attorneys began whispering to him. Rossetti took a brief recess and when she came back, she asked Crimo again. This time he responded and told her, “No.”
The alleged killer’s response shocked the courtroom. He’d reportedly already agreed to take the deal that would have reduced the charges against him to about half.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart spoke to the press after the hearing and said his office had been working with the victim’s families and the survivors to prepare them for the event. He made it clear that the state attorney’s office and support professions would continue to meet with those impacted and support them.
Antonio Romanucci, the attorney who represents the families, told reporters that Crimo looked back at the audience during the trial to see who was there. He said the courtroom witnessed “absolute, unadulterated evil” and his decision to reject the plea deal was “a calculated effort on his part to continue the suffering of” the families and victims.
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