Gunman in 2022 mass shooting at suburban Chicago July Fourth parade to be sentenced in court

WAUKEGAN Ill AP The man who admitted to a mass shooting at a suburban Chicago Independence Day parade was set to be sentenced Thursday a day after survivors and bystanders gave emotional testimony about how their lives have changed since he killed seven people and hurt dozens more Robert E Crimo III changed his plea to guilty last month mere moments before the start of his trial His incident has progressed slowly in part because of his erratic behavior That history continued Wednesday when he refused to attend court despite a judge s previous warnings that the occurrence would proceed without him Keely Roberts whose -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 explained You are now irrelevant Specific survivors called Crimo a monster while another cited their faith in forgiving him Several described feeling empty or facing deep sadness since the shooting Particular no longer attend population gatherings Crimo is certain to spend the rest of his life behind bars He pleaded guilty to counts of first-degree murder three counts for each person killed and 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 communicated officers that he briefly reconsidered the attack because of a obstacle with the gun He later fixed the weapon I walked up the stairs jumped on the roof and opened fire he reported Crimo was calm and cavalier even cackling and joking stated Brian Bodden a Highland Park police officer Prosecutors recreated the horror of the day in the upscale society of about people north of Chicago showing video taken along the parade trail and asking bystanders 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 exigency sirens blared fleeing along with other attendees Multiple cried during the testimony while others put their arms around each other inside the Lake County courtroom The seven people killed were Katherine Goldstein Jacquelyn Sundheim Stephen Straus Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza Eduardo Uvaldo and married couple Kevin McCarthy and Irina McCarthy 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 to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct He served less than two months in jail Source