Survivors and relatives of those killed read statements addressed to Crimo, even though authorities said he refused to appear in court or watch from jail. Prosecutors presented evidence including parts of a lengthy videotaped confession.
“You took my mom,” said Leah Sundheim, the only child of victim Jacquelyn Sundheim. “I will never be able to summarize how simply extraordinary she was, and how devastating and out of balance my life is without her.”
Witnesses and first responders testified on the rescue of a child left orphaned and a "post-apocalyptic scene" of bodies in the street among abandoned strollers and lawn chairs.
“It went from watching a parade to utter chaos,” testified Dana Ruder Ring, who attended the parade with her husband and three kids. “We just had to keep going. We just knew that staying still was not a safe idea and we were terrified.”
Her husband frantically searched for the parents of a child who was covered in blood while seeing “bodies still smoking on the ground,” Ruder Ring said.
She learned later that the boy’s parents, Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, had been killed.
Shooter's confession revealed
In parts of the confession, a blank-faced Crimo slumps in a chair, his arms crossed. He said he briefly reconsidered the attack because of a problem with the gun, but he fixed it.
“I walked up the stairs, jumped on the roof and opened fire,” he said. He said he tried to avoid children, but it was impossible in the crowd.
Crimo was calm and cavalier, even laughing and joking, said Brian Bodden, a Highland Park police officer.
“He was never serious, no remorse,” Bodden testified, adding that Crimo was clear that he intended to kill people. He said Crimo had planned the shooting since about 2017 and took pictures of locations.
When Bodden asked Crimo why he attacked the parade, he gave a cryptic answer about being a sleepwalker and added: “I don’t even think I really wanted to.”
Crimo’s attorneys had tried to have his confession to police thrown out earlier in the case.
A celebration turned horrific
Prosecutors recreated the horror of the day, including first responders' view of the aftermath during the hearing at a Lake County courthouse.
In one video, a marching band played “You're a Grand Old Flag” before shots were fired. Musicians carrying instruments ran as emergency sirens blared. The crowds quickly dispersed.
Many cried during the testimony, while others put their arms around each other. Boxes of tissues were spread throughout the room. About a dozen survivors and relatives were also expected to speak in court.
Retired Highland Park Police Commander Gerry Cameron, who was on duty the day of the parade, testified he ran toward what sounded like fireworks or a car backfiring and saw people hurt and others running in panic. He described helping people who were hiding in businesses.
“They were reluctant to come out. They were reluctant to come to the door,” he said. “They were horrified.”
Crimo fired from a roof, leaving behind 83 shell casings, authorities said.
Crimo injured 48 people and killed seven, including the McCarthys and Sundheim; Katherine Goldstein, 64; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69. The youngest person wounded was 8-year-old Cooper Roberts, who was paralyzed from the waist down.
Emergency room Dr. Jeremy Smiley escaped the parade while carrying his daughter, got his family to safety and went to the hospital.
“The number of shots, it was just clear that whatever this was, it was going to be bad,” he said in court.
He described caring for Cooper as injured people filled emergency room beds and lined the hallways. Other doctors kept showing up to help.
Meanwhile, authorities collected evidence in the deserted downtown. Bodies were covered in blue tarps.
“It was pretty eerie, almost post-apocalyptic," testified FBI special agent Marc Recca.
A life sentence is certain
Crimo will be sentenced for 21 counts of first-degree murder — three counts for each person killed — and 48 counts of attempted murder. Each first-degree murder count carries a maximum life sentence in Illinois.
The case has moved slowly, in part because Crimo backed out of a plea deal, fired his public defenders and reversed his decision to represent himself. He signed his name and Donald Trump's when he waived his right to trial.
Crimo has previously skipped court, including parts of jury selection, despite a judge's warnings that the case would still move forward.
The upscale Highland Park community of roughly 30,000 north of Chicago has mourned the shooting deeply. City leaders canceled the parade in 2023, but it was reinstated last year on a different route and included a memorial.
Several survivors have filed lawsuits against Crimo and gunmaker Smith & Wesson.
Crimo’s parents attended most court proceedings but were not present Wednesday.
His father, Robert Crimo Jr., served less than two months in jail for charges in connection to how his son obtained a gun license. He declined to comment Wednesday.
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This story has been corrected to show that Cameron described clearing people who were hiding, not Conway.
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