Highland Park July 4 mass shooting suspect Robert Crimo III stares down potential jurors at start of trial for murdering 7 people

The tattoo-covered man accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens of others when he opened fire into a crowd of Fourth of July parade-goers near Chicago stared down potential jurors at the start of his trial Monday.

Jury selection began Monday for Robert Crimo III, 24, who faces 21 murder counts, three for each of the victims slain in the 2022 massacre.

In court, he wore a suit and tie, clean shaven and with his hair cut short, and sported numerous visible tatoos — including “Awake” over is left eyebrow.

He occasionally looked at jurors as they were being questioned and appeared to be jotting things down on paper. His parents sat in the row behind him.

His court appearance came after several false starts due to the erratic, unpredictable behavior of the alleged killer, who struck down a plea bargain, then fired and re-hired his public defenders and refused to leave his cell on the day of two scheduled hearings.

Opening statements are expected next week.

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Authorities allege Crimo perched on a rooftop and loosed dozens of rounds on crowds assembled for a Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a wealthy suburb 30 miles from Chicago.

Two 8-year-old boy who was left partially paralyzed.

Witnesses described the scene as the sound of gunfire followed by panic as families fled the parade route, leaving behind lawn chairs and strollers to find safety inside homes and businesses.

City leaders canceled the parade the following year but reinstated it in 2024 with a memorial for the victims.

This month, Mayor Nancy Rotering announced the parade will return in July, but without fireworks, partly because of “community trauma.”

“This year’s parade theme reminds us that teams bring people together in support of a common goal, and that we are most resilient when we support each other,” Rotering said.

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

Crimo was initially charged with 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, in addition to the murder counts. But on Monday, Lake County prosecutors sought to drop the lesser aggravated battery counts. They briefly noted the move ahead of jury selection without any explanation. Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti signed the one-page order to dismiss the charges.

Prosecutors have turned over about 10,000 pages of evidence, as well as hours of a video-taped interrogation during which police say Crimo confessed to the shooting.

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But Crimo has since rejected a plea deal.

Court proceedings have made parts of the interrogation public, and defense attorneys tried unsuccessfully to have the videos thrown out, alleging Crimo’s rights were being violated.

Videos show officers repeatedly asking Crimo if he understood his Miranda rights, which include the right to remain silent and have an attorney present.

“I’ve heard them a million times,” Crimo said at one point.

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Prosecutors also have shown footage of a person dressed in women’s clothing and identified by police as Crimo headed toward the parade route on the morning of July 4, 2022.

Crimo’s wild courtroom antics are doing his defense no favors.

He didn’t show up to two previous court hearings, refusing to leave his Lake County jail cell. And in June 2024, when he was expected to accept a plea deal and give reversed himself.

“Anything could happen at this point,” said Eric Johnson, a law professor at the University of Illinois.

Crimo’s defense attorneys and Lake County prosecutors have repeatedly declined comment ahead of the trial.

Crimo’s father is also on the hook for allowing his son to access the murder weapon.

Robert Crimo Jr. pleaded guilty in 2023 to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct, partly for sponsoring his 19-year-old son’s gun license application in 2019, despite the teen having threatened to “kill everyone.”

Crimo Jr., a onetime mayoral candidate and former owner of a now-closed deli, has attended his son’s court hearings, making eye contact with him during hearings. He declined to discuss the case in detail.

“As a parent, I love my son very much and Bobby loves this country more than anyone would ever know,” he said during a phone interview. “I have no further comment.”

Potential jurors reported to the courthouse in Waukegan on Monday. The process began slowly, first with filling out extensive juror questionnaires followed by questioning by the judge and attorneys. Only three jurors were chosen by lunch Monday.

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Opening statements are scheduled for next week in what attorneys expect to be a roughly monthlong trial. But the high-profile nature of the case could complicate efforts to find a jury.

All six of those who appeared for questioning Monday morning had heard of the shooting when it first happened, even one who was traveling to Greece at the time.

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Survivors and their families have filed multiple authorities they accuse of negligence.Those who have spoken out declined interviews ahead of the trial. Some are expected to testify, along with police and a former school resource officer who encountered Crimo during middle and high school.

Experts say attorneys will have to approach juror selection with extra care.

“There is information that’s out there,” said Alan Tuerkheimer, who consults lawyers on jury strategy but isn’t involved in the trial. “This is the kind of thing that has affected people in the community.”

With Post wire reports