Jury selection begins in 2022 Highland Park parade shooting trial
Jury selection began Monday for the man accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens more during the 4th of July parade in Highland Park back in 2022.
The suspected shooter, Robert Crimo III, is facing 21 counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of attempted murder related to the 2022 mass shooting.
He was offered a plea deal involving 55 charges of murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, with the rest of the charges dismissed. He would have been sentenced to natural life imprisonment under that deal but rejected it last June.
For the first half of the jury selection process Monday, the defendant sat intently — either straight up or at times using his elbow to prop himself up — to look at potential jurors.
Among the seven jurors selected as of the late afternoon were a hospice nurse, a man who owns a trucking company, a chef, and a business analyst.
Jurors were all asked how they receive their news; if they were comfortable listening to and seeing sensitive and at times disturbing testimony, vide, and other evidence; and how familiar they are with the Highland Park shooting.
Those selected all said they either don't go on social media, or have not followed the case since the shooting happened.
One prospective juror was asked if he could put what he knows aside to consider the case objectively, and responded, "I sincerely wish I could, but I don't think I can."
"It's going to be difficult, because this is a relatively small area — it's Lake County. Everybody in Lake County knows about this case. Frankly, the entire area knows about this case," CBS News Legal Analyst Irv Miller said at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan. "It'll be difficult to get people that could say, 'Hey, yes, I could be fair.'"
Victims of the shooting will be allowed to attend the trial, a Lake County judge ruled last week.
Prosecutors filed the motion to allow the victims in the courthouse even though many of them could be called as witnesses. On Thursday, Judge Victoria Rossetti said the victim's testimony would not be impacted by other victims' testimonies, and the decision would be up to each individual victim witness if they want to attend.
Some victims' family members were in court Monday, as well as the defendant and his parents — at least for the first few hours. The defendant and his family did not return after an early lunch break Monday.
Miller said Crimo is not legally required to be present, but his choice not to be could affect jurors' impressions.
"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."
Meanwhile, 48 charges of aggravated battery with a firearm were dismissed against the defendant. Miller said this was not a surprise.
"Obviously, the most serious was the murder, then the attempted murder on those that survived that were shot, but then the aggravated battery with a firearm — that's really a duplication of the attempted murder. The only difference is attempted murder means he intended to kill. The aggravated battery is just, he shot somebody," said Miller. "They're lesser charges. They're really redundant, really unnecessary, and it's typical that those get dismissed."
Those who were killed in the mass shooting were 64-year-old Katherine Goldstein, of Highland Park; 35-year-old Irina McCarthy, of Highland Park; 37-year-old Kevin McCarthy, of Highland Park; 63-year-old Jacquelyn Sundheim, of Highland Park; 88-year-old Stephen Straus, of Highland Park; 78-year-old Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, of Morelos, Mexico; and 69-year-old Eduardo Uvaldo, of Waukegan.
A total of 48 people were also wounded in the shooting. Among them was Cooper Roberts, then 8, who was left paralyzed from the waist down.
The trial is expected to last anywhere between three and five weeks. Evidence will not be heard on Fridays.
Opening statements will begin on Monday, March 3.
For anyone who needs support during the trial, the United Way of Lake County offers 24/7 help by dialing 211.
