Man pleads guilty in Chicago Fourth of July parade shooting
SEBASTIAN HIDALGO/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Clothes and other possessions left by those who fled during a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, in July 2022. The man accused of killing seven people at the parade pleaded guilty, today, as his murder trial was about to start.
WAUKEGAN, Ill. >> The man accused of killing seven people with a high-powered rifle during a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago in 2022 pleaded guilty today, just as opening statements were expected to begin in his murder trial.
The man, Robert Crimo III, pleaded guilty to 69 criminal counts, including murder and attempted murder, which will result in a sentence of at least seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
“Is this what you want to do today, plead guilty?” Judge Victoria A. Rossetti of Lake County circuit court asked Crimo, who sat expressionless in court, wearing a suit and tie and staring straight ahead.
“Yes,” Crimo said, answering in the affirmative when Rossetti asked if he understood what had been explained to him about his plea.
Rossetti set a sentencing date of April 23.
Dozens of family members of the victims of the parade attack in Highland Park, Illinois, watched silently from the gallery. Crimo’s mother, Denise Pesina, called out from her seat in the courtroom when the plea was announced, but remained quiet after being admonished by the judge.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
© 2025 The New York Times Company
