The man opened fire during a suburb of Chicago in Illinois Highland Park on July 4, and was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences in 2022, one of whom he killed.
The man, Robert Crimo III, was also sentenced to 50 years in prison for being murdered in the march but each of the 48 people who survived the marches were injured. He is not eligible for parole.
Victoria A of Lake County Circuit Court
“No judgment could change the July 4 incident,” she said. “It also cannot compensate for losses for those who have lost loved ones or injured.”
About twenty relatives of the victim gathered in a court gallery to hear the verdict. Some of them cried; others leaned their heads against relatives' shoulders.
Mr. Crimo avoided the trial in the case, which pleaded guilty in March on 69 counts of crimes, including first-degree murder.
During a two-day sentencing hearing that began Wednesday morning, witnesses spoke about the horror and chaos of the shooting, recalling how they fled with their families and seeing people bleeding in the streets.
Lake County State Attorney Eric Rinehart described a broken community in his speech to the court. He said Mr. Crimo created “a sea of sorrow, pain, heartache and loss.” “Many people think that the sentences you give do not correct this.”
Mr. Crimo's attorney Gregory Ticsay said in court Thursday that Mr. Crimo had resigned from his life sentence.
“He realized he would spend the rest of his life in prison,” he said.
Mr. Crimo, who was held in the Lake County Jail, refused to appear in court at a hearing Wednesday throughout the day. Judge Rossetti said the verdict without him would continue.
“He was told that if he did not show up, we could continue in his absence, including sentencing, so we will continue,” Judge Rossetti said Thursday.
Erica Weeder, who was injured in shrapnel during the shooting during the shooting, spoke in court Thursday about the lasting impact of the shooting on her mind.
Now, she said, she is plagued by fireworks, the noise of construction sites and the rumbling of the L train.
“I lost some deep keels,” she said. “Some of my ability to rebound from stressful events has simply disappeared.”
Those killed in the shooting were Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Irina McCarthy, 35, and her husband, Kevin McCarthy, 37.
