Judge Victoria Rossetti told a courtroom full of survivors of the 2022 attack that Crimo would serve seven life sentences, one after another.
Robert Crimo III, the admitted shooter in the Highland Park July 4 parade massacre, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday, as a courtroom packed with survivors of the mass shooting looked on.
Judge Victoria Rossetti told a courtroom full of survivors of the 2022 attack that Crimo would serve seven life sentences, one after another.
But before she could finish, Rossetti paused the hearing briefly while reading the last of the sentences for the 48 counts of attempted murder, which she said would happen simultaneously to one another.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart could be heard telling survivors in the gallery that Crimo had requested to come up during the hearing. He said it was an unprecedented situation and that he would argue against his being allowed to speak.
Crimo had declined through his lawyers earlier to speak or give a written statement during sentencing.
Earlier Rossetti told the courtroom that she had no idea what his motive could have been.
“To right some wrong, or just because?” Rossetti said.
“But his actions tell this court that he was just a coward, hiding behind a skirt, makeup and an assault weapon that he used to terrorize a community,” Rossetti said. “His callous statement of ‘Breaking a few eggs to make an omelet’ couldn’t be further from the truth. What I’ve heard from the last two days. the community, the people and victims and loved ones are stronger than they’ve ever been and are not broken.”
Rossetti acknowledged that “so many more [people] in the community” were victims of this attack beyond the 55 people shot, seven of whom died.
