Jury selection continues for 2nd day in trial of Highland Park parade shooting suspect
Jury selection continued for a second day on Tuesday in the murder trial of the man accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens of others in Highland Park, Illinois, during the 4th of July parade in 2022.
Robert Crimo III, 24, is on trial on 21 counts of first-degree murder, and 48 counts of attempted murder. As of Tuesday afternoon, 11 jurors have been chosen in his trial, including six men and five women. Prosecutors and defense attorneys need to choose 12 jurors and 6 alternates before opening arguments can begin next week.
Overall, the jury selection process has moved faster than some legal experts had expected given the high-profile nature of the case.
Many people who live in Highland Park have been attending the trial to watch the process unfold, possibly hoping for some closure at the end of the trial.
Potential jurors have been questioned how they receive their news, if they're familiar with the trial process already, or if they are familiar with the case already. Most people who have been chosen for the jury so far have said they only heard about the shooting when it happened, and haven't been following the case since then.
Most potential jurors also have said they don't go on social media much, and don't interact with news about the shooting since it happened.
Some potential jurors who have been rejected have admitted they already formed an opinion about the case, and have said they believe Crimo is guilty.
Crimo was in court for the first half of the day on Tuesday, but for the second day in a row, told his attorneys he would not be back after the lunch break. Crimo is not legally required to be present for the trial, but CBS News Chicago Legal Analyst Irv Miller has said his absence could affect jurors' impressions of him.
"I think it would definitely matter to the jury. Some jurors will say, 'Listen — if you don't care, I don't care,'" Miller said. "You know, he has a right to be there. He's giving up his right to confront his accusers, which is a constitutional provision in this country."
Crimo had been offered a deal that would have seen him plead guilty to seven counts of murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, with the 48 charges of attempted murder dismissed, and be sentenced to life in prison, but he rejected that deal last summer.
Instead, before the trial started, prosecutors dropped the aggravated battery charges, and are proceeding with the 21 counts of murder and 48 counts of attempted murder.
Those who were killed in the shooting included 64-year-old Katherine Goldstein, 35-year-old Irina McCarthy, 37-year-old Kevin McCarthy, 63-year-old Jacquelyn Sundheim, 88-year-old Stephen Straus, 78-year-old Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, and 69-year-old Eduardo Uvaldo.
Another 48 people were wounded in the shooting, including Cooper Roberts, then 8, who was left paralyzed from the waist down.
The trial is expected to last three to five weeks, with no evidence heard on Fridays.
For anyone who needs support during the trial, the United Way of Lake County offers 24/7 help by dialing 211.
