The mass shooter who murdered seven people and wounded almost 50 in a horror July 4th massacre cowardly skipped his sentencing hearing as he learned he would die in prison.
Robert Crimo III, 24, avoided coming face to face with the families of his victims in court on Thursday as Judge Victoria Rosetti handed him seven consecutive life sentences, one for each of his victims.
Crimo also received an additional 50 years for the 48 people wounded when he opened fire at the 2022 Independence Day parade in Chicago's Highland Park suburb.
The judge condemned Crimo to life in prison after hearing two days of anguished victim impact statements, which were briefly paused Thursday as the court heard Crimo may join his hearing after all before he opted not to, reports CBS News.
Survivor Dana Ruder Ring gave heartbreaking testimony over what she witnessed when Crimo opened fire, saying her family ran for cover in a parking garage when bullets rang out at the parade.
She said as her family hid, a woman approached them and handed her a two-year-old boy covered in blood, and said the infant repeatedly told her his parents would find him.
Ring said she later learned the boy's parents were Irina and Kevin McCarthy, who were among those murdered by Crimo.
She was joined in the courtroom by families and loved ones of Crimo's other victims, Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, Stephen Straus, 88, Nicolas Toledo Zaragoza, 78, and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69.
Robert Crimo III, 24, cowardly skipped his sentencing hearing on Thursday to avoid coming face to face with victims of his horror 2022 July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, Chicago, where he killed seven people and wounded almost 50
Survivors and families of Crimo's victims gave heartbreaking victim impact statements before a judge handed Crimo seven consecutive life sentences, one for each dead victim. Pictured (L-R) is survivors Keely Roberts, Sheila Gutman and Dana Ruder Ring, who spoke at the hearing
A survivor of the massacre testified this week how she was handed a baby covered in blood by a bystander fleeing for their life, and later found they were the child of victims Irina and Kevin McCarthy,35 and 37 (pictured)
Crimo's sentencing comes a month after he surprised prosecutors by pleading guilty to the massacre just moments before opening arguments were set to begin at his trial.
He previously pleaded not guilty, but U-turned as he was about to face a month of incriminating evidence including his prints found on the gun used in the attack, and his own confessions to police.
The criminal case against Crimo was continually delayed and postponed, partly due to the killer's unpredictable behavior while in custody awaiting his trial for almost three years.
This included in June 2024 when he was expected to take a plea deal, only to arrive in court in a wheelchair before rejecting the deal, surprising even his own lawyers.
Crimo also fired his public defenders and tried to represent himself in court, and his decision on Thursday to miss his sentencing hearing comes as he also avoided much of his previous court appearances by refusing to leave his cell.
He remained in custody throughout the proceedings, after being arrested at the scene on July 4, 2022, when he shot up the parade.
FBI agents work the scene of the shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Chicago's Highland Park, where police said Crimo perched on a roof before raining bullets down on families
Nicolas Toledo (left), 76, and Jacki Sundheim (right), 63, were among the seven innocent victims killed by Cremo when he opened fire
Steve Straus, 88, (left) and Eduardo Uvaldo, 65, (right) were also named as victims in the senseless mass shooting
Katherine Goldstein, pictured left, was with her family when she was also killed at the horror Highland Park parade mass shooting on July 4, 2022
Witnesses described a chaotic scene as dozens of people at the Highland Park celebration were hit, with the wounded ranging in age from their 80s down to an eight-year-old boy, Cooper Roberts, who was paralyzed from the waist down.
Authorities said Crimo perched on a roof and fired into crowds, sending families scrambling for their lives.
Following his sentencing this week, officials praised law enforcement for catching Crimo quickly at the scene of the massacre, asLake County State's Attorney Eric said the killer 'didn't have one chance of winning at trial' even if he had tried to.
'Seven people lost their lives, but this community kept going, and there always has been strength in this community and from this group of victims and survivors, no matter how that strength is shown, and that stands in such contrast to what the offender did,' he said.
Rinehart thanked families for their remarks at Crimo's sentencing this week, saying after the hearing their 'bravery is truly stunning.'
Crimo's court proceedings lasted almost three years as his erratic behavior derailed hearings, including in June 2024 when he was expected to take a plea deal, before showing up in a wheelchair (pictured) and surprising even his own lawyers as he rejected the deal
Crimo's wounded victims ranged in age from their 80s down to an eight-year-old boy, Cooper Roberts, (pictured) who was paralyzed from the waist down
Dozens of mourners gather for a vigil near Central Avenue and St. Johns Avenue in downtown Highland Park, one day after the shooting
Visitors pay their respects at altars for the seven people Crimo killed in the 2022 Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park
'The amount of trauma and pain that they have gone through in this case is something that is hard to describe,' he said.
'In the courtroom, I used the words 'oceans of pain, trauma, grief and loss,' and I don't even think that word is really adequate to describe the impact that this case has had.'
Crimo's guilty plea this week comes almost two years after his father Robert Crimo Jr., a onetime mayoral candidate, also faced charges over how his killer son obtained a gun license.
In 2019, at age 19, Crimo was only allowed to apply for a gun license with the sponsorship of a parent or guardian. His father agreed, even though a relative had reported to police that his son had a collection of knives and had threatened to 'kill everyone.'
His father pleaded guilty in 2023 to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct, and he served just shy of two months in jail.
He often appeared at his son's hearings after his release, and told reporters at a previous proceeding: 'As a parent, I love my son very much.And Bobby loves this country more than anyone would ever know.'
