Robert Crimo III, the gunman who killed seven people and injured dozens in a mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 4, 2022, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday.
Crimo was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, Judge Victoria A. Rossetti announced on Thursday.
“This court hopes this sentence hopes brings a sense of justice and an end to the continued horror,” Rossetti said.
The sentencing hearing, which began Wednesday, finished Thursday morning after the court heard from multiple survivors and relatives of those killed in the shooting at the Independence Day parade.
Robert E. Crimo III arrives for his trial in Judge Victoria A. Rossetti’s courtroom in Waukegan, Ill., March 3, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Crimo decided to not appear in court on Wednesday or Thursday. The shooter’s parents, who have attended most court proceedings, were also not present.
The victims, who expected to address Crimo at the sentencing hearing, still shared the impact Crimo’s attack had on their lives.
Leah Sundheim, daughter of victim Jacqueline Sundheim, said Crimo “threw the balance of this world off” by killing her mother.
“I hope you wake in the middle of the night, gasping air you don’t deserve,” Sundheim said in court on Wednesday.
Sundheim also read a statement on behalf of her father, Bruce Sundheim, who said their family’s lives have been destroyed by Crimo’s “violent tantrum.”
Marcia Moran, whose husband was shot by Crimo, said she has been in therapy for over two years due to the emotional trauma. Her family has since moved out of Highland Park and is now living in Tennessee.
“The shooter doesn’t get to take anything more from me,” Moran said in court via Zoom.
Abandoned belongings near the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade, on July 7, 2022 in Highland Park, Ill.
Jim Vondruska/Getty Images, FILE
In March, Crimo pleaded guilty to 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts for each person killed, and dozens of attempted murder charges.
Survivor Ashbey Beasley, who fled the parade with her son when the gunfire broke out, said in March the plea brought an “immense amount of relief.”
“Every single time I see [Crimo], it’s stressful,” she told reporters back in March. “I think it’s upsetting for everyone…Just knowing that his plea has been entered and we will not have to see him again is what we all need.”
Crimo appeared ready to accept a guilty plea last June during a hearing, only to reject the deal in front of devastated members of the victims’ families. He was expected to plead guilty to seven counts of murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm at the hearing at the time, according to the AP.
“We have Fourth of July coming up and it will be two years,” Sundheim said at a news conference at the time. “All I wanted was to be able to fully grieve my mom without the looming trial, knowing that he was going to spend the rest of his life in jail. And instead, we were yet again shown [Crimo’s] complete and blatant disregard for humans.”
Robert E. Crimo III arrives for his trial in Judge Victoria A. Rossetti’s courtroom in Waukegan, Ill., March 3, 2025.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Crimo told police he wore women’s clothing during the shooting and used makeup to hide his facial tattoos and blend in with the crowd during the chaos, prosecutors said. Crimo was apprehended hours later and prosecutors said he confessed to the shooting.
Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., pleaded guilty last year to reckless conduct, admitting to signing the Firearm Owner’s Identification card for his son to apply for gun ownership.
The younger Crimo was 19 at the time and too young to get a FOID card on his own. Illinois at the time required people ages 18, 19 or 20 to have parent or guardian authorization.
