Accused Highland Park mass shooter thumbs nose at families of 7 killed, dozens hurt in July 4 parade bloodbath with last-minute reversal

Highland Park shooting suspect Robert Crimo III backed out of a plea deal with prosecutors that could have spared the loved ones of his alleged victims the torture of a drawn-out trial, changing his mind at the last minute during a dramatic court hearing.

Crimo is accused of killing seven people and injuring 48 others during the 2022 July 4th Parade in Highland Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

The 23-year-old was expected to plead guilty to seven counts of murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery during a court hearing in Lake County. 

But during the hearing, Crimo, who was rolled into court in a wheelchair, did not respond when asked if he agreed with the guilty plea. 

After being removed from the court with his lawyer to discuss the matters, he returned and answered 'no' when asked if he accepted the deal.

Crimo is wheeled back into the courtroom after talking with his lawyers, Wednesday, June 26, 2024

FBI agents work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois

Visitors pay their respects, Thursday, July 7, 2022, at altars for the seven people killed in the Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park

The deal would have netted him a sentence of life in prison without parole, plus 30 years for each count of aggravated battery, but spared the loved ones of the seven victims and many of the survivors from having to relive the horror during a lengthy trial. 

Those killed in the attack were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, and married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35. 

Crimo used a rifle 'similar to an AR-15' to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade, police said. 

It was later revealed that Crimo had dressed as a woman to carry out the deadly Independence Day attack and was able to flee in the crowd because of the disguise. 

Survivors and those who lost loved ones had been gathered in the courtroom at the time of his reversal and had been prepared to give victim impact statements. 

Some felt Crimo was looking at them, not his parents, as the silent courtroom awaited his answer about the proposed agreement.

Leah Sundheim lost her mother in the attack and told ABC7 Chicago: 'We have Fourth of July coming up and it will be two years. 

'All I wanted was to fully grieve my mom without the looming trial knowing that he is going to spend the rest of his life in jail. 

'Instead we were yet again shown his complete and blatant disregard for humans or anyone, all of us in that courtroom.

'Instead, we now get to sit and wait weeks and months of more hearings and unknowns that we just have to live with until hopefully in February.'

Leah Sundheim, center, whose mother Jacquelyn was killed, said the family had been looking forward to fully grieving her mom without the looming trial

Karina Mendez, whose father Eduardo Uvaldo was killed in the attack, said that it had been hard for her to appear in the court room

Karina Mendez, whose father Eduardo Uvaldo was killed in the attack, added: 'It's hard, just to come in here and see the person that took my dad, it's not something that you want to do.'

Dozens of people were wounded in the 2022 shooting. The wounded ranged in age from their 80s down to an 8-year-old boy who was left partially paralyzed.

Witnesses described initial confusion as the shots began, followed by panic as families fled the parade route, leaving behind chairs, bicycles and strollers in the rush to find safety inside nearby businesses or homes.

The criminal case has proceeded slowly for months. At one point, Crimo insisted he wanted to fire his public defenders and represent himself. He abruptly reversed that decision weeks later.

Wednesday´s hearing was announced last week, though he was not scheduled to return to court until August. 

Authorities have said the accused gunman confessed to police in the days after he opened fire from a rooftop in Highland Park, an affluent suburb that is home to about 30,000 people near the Lake Michigan shore. 

They said he initially fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area and contemplated a second shooting at a parade there but returned to Chicago's northern suburbs

Irina and Kevin McCarthy, 35 and 37, were both killed in the massacre. Their two-year-old son, Aiden, was pulled from underneath his father's body

Nicolas Toledo, 76, had not wanted to attend the parade in Highland Park, Ill., on Monday, his granddaughter because he was in a wheelchair. Jacki Sundheim is seen on the right

Katherine Goldstein, pictured left, was among the people killed in the Highland Park parade mass shooting on July 4

Steve Straus, 88, (left) and Eduardo Uvaldo, 65, (right) were among those killed in the mass shooting 

Dozens of mourners gather for a vigil near Central Avenue and St. Johns Avenue in downtown Highland Park, one day after the shooting

All of those killed were from the Highland Park area except for Toledo-Zaragoza, who was visiting family in the city from Morelos, Mexico.

The violence focused attention on Highland Park´s 2013 ban on semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity magazines. 

Illinois officials have long contended that legal and illegal weapons are easily purchased in surrounding states, hampering even the toughest local laws' effectiveness.

Authorities said that Crimo, a resident of nearby Highwood, legally purchased the rifle. But he first applied for a state gun license in 2019 when he was 19, too young to apply independently in Illinois.

His father sponsored the application, though police reports show that months earlier a relative reported to police that Crimo had threatened to 'kill everyone' and had made several threats to kill himself.

Prosecutors initially charged the father, Robert Crimo Jr., with seven felony counts of reckless conduct and he pleaded guilty in November to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct.  

Crimo answers to Judge Victoria A. Rossetti during a hearing in Lake County court, in Waukegan, Illinois, U.S., August 3, 2022

He was sentenced to 60 days in jail and released early for good behavior. Crimo's father declined to speak with reporters following Wednesday's hearing.

Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart spoke after the hearing, saying: 'We have been working with the victims and survivors, supporting the victims and survivors over the last several days and weeks preparing for today.

'Our trial team and our team of victim support professionals met with them for as long as they needed to. 

'That was an unusual procedure but necessary in light of what happened today. We met with them as long as they needed to. 

'We are available for them not only throughout the rest of the day but until this goes to trial. We will continue to support them. We will be ready for trial.'