Highland Park parade shooter changes plea to guilty on first day of trial
The Highland Park parade shooter changed his plea to guilty Monday — moments before opening statements were to begin on the first day of his trial.
Lake County Judge Victoria A. Rossetti accepted the guilty plea by Robert Crimo III, stopping what would have been three to five weeks of testimony and evidence presentations.
The defendant pleaded guilty to all 21 counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of attempted murder. He was accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens more at Highland Park's Fourth of July parade in 2022.
He rejected a plea deal last summer.
Crimo will likely spend life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Last week, 12 jurors and six alternates were chosen. On Monday, the day began as it normally would ahead of what was supposed to be opening statements — first, in a routine action, a juror was dismissed with an alternate.
But then, the defense announced that the accused had changed his mind about his plea, and the case of The People v. Robert Crimo III came to a surprising end.
Witnesses and members of the Highland Park community sat silently while Judge Rossetti asked Crimo multiple times whether he was sure. Crimo said "yes" when asked if he had discussed the plea with his attorneys, and "no" when asked if anyone forced him to enter the plea.
"This is not a negotiation. This was not a deal," said Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart. "He made a free decision to plead guilty to every single count that this trial team, and this law enforcement team, was about to present to this jury."
Rinehart said his team was prepared for a lengthy trial. Most of the 48 survivors were expected to take the stand during the trial, which was expected to last three to five weeks.
"If we had gone all the way to trial, gone through closing arguments, and the jury walked back into the room and delivered 69 counts of guilty, it is the exact same legal effect as when [Judge Rossetti] accepted 69 counts of guilty today," Rinehart said.
Rinehart listed the evidence prosecutors would have shown — including ballistics reports, DNA conclusions, and eyewitness testimony that he said would have had the same result.
"We believe that what we had to present to the jury was absolutely going to convict him," Rinehart said.
CBS News Chicago Legal Analyst Irv Miller said a defendant's decision to change his mind is not uncommon — though it can be surprising for many in the courtroom.
"There are about 10 factors that a judge must inform the defendant about — asking him if he understands what that is, and if he's willing to give certain things, give up trial by jury; ask him if he's been coerced; ask him if he's satisfied with his lawyers," Miller said. "The judge wants to make sure the plea is done in a way that it can't be challenged on appeal. The defendant has a right to appeal a guilty plea, saying 'Hey listen, I wasn't properly advised.' So that's what this judge — who's a very experienced judge — I'm sure made absolutely clear to him as to what she wanted to hear, and he appropriately said yes to the right questions."
Meanwhile, just because witnesses will not be able to testify during the trial does not mean they will not have the opportunity to address Crimo directly. They will have the option to present a victim impact statement during sentencing on April 23.
Highland Park mass shooting survivors, community react
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.
A spokesperson for the victims and survivors said they are all relieved by the plea entered Monday.
"Even when you are not injured, just being at an event like this is life-changing," said Ashbey Beasley, who fled the parade with her son when the gunfire broke out.
After the plea, the survivors and victims' families left the courthouse to go home and process.
"Just an immense amount of relief," said Beasley. "We can all heal. Our path to healing is beginning."
Jennifer McGuffin, of the law firm Romanucci & Blandin, spoke out on behalf of dozens of other survivors of the Highland Park mass shooting.
"They each expressed an individual and a collective sense of relief," McGuffin said. "But today was a very emotional event, and they are all asking for some time and space to come to terms with what happened today, as positive a development as it may have been."
McGuffin, a representative of the law firm representing many families in civil suits, said the plea was an important step for those families, and beyond.
"I'm going to let the civil attorneys defer to the process and the sequence on that, but I will say that today was a very important step to accomplish," she said. "The victims were all looking for some sort of criminal justice, in addition to civil."
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said Crimo's guilty plea eases, but does not erase, the pain the community has felt over the last few years.
"I think there's a sense of relief that justice has been served," Rotering said. "Everybody is eternally grateful to the state's attorney for the incredible work he and his team have been doing."
The City of Highland Park continues to provide access to mental health care — 1,200 people were receiving care in the days following the shooting. United Way of Lake County offers anyone here 24/7 help by dialing 211.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rotering emphasized that thoughts remain with those who lost loved ones — those whose lives changed forever in 2022.
"And I think at this moment, we're all just sort of surprised and relieved that they don't have to experience the unbelievable pain of reliving this experience for the next three to five weeks," Rotering said.
The overall message Monday was that the plea is not the end, but the community will move forward together as one Highland Park.
For anyone who needs support during the trial, the United Way of Lake County is offering 24/7 help by dialing 211.
