WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) — Jury selection wrapped up Wednesday in the Highland Park shooting trial.
The final alternate was selected toward the end of the day.
Twelve jurors have been seated: six men and six women.
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They are mostly white, with one Black man.
They range in age, from college age to late retirees.
Six alternates have also been selected: three men and three women.
The jury is comprised of retirees, suburban mothers and fathers, several gun owners and video game enthusiasts.
Robert Crimo III was not in court on Wednesday.
Highland Park shooting suspect Robert Crimo III was absent the 3rd day of the trial.
The sergeant in the court that’s assigned to transport Crimo to and from Lake County Jail said Crimo was asked more than once if he was coming to court, and he said “no.”
Judge Victoria Rosetti reminded attorneys that jury selection will proceed without the defendant.
Crimo’s father was also not in court on Wednesday morning.
On Monday and Tuesday, Crimo III left court after lunch and did not return.
His father, Robert Crimo Jr., who was in court alone Tuesday, said his son “was bored.”
Public defender Gregory Ticsay met with Crimo’s father, and urged him to get his son to come to court.
Legal experts say Crimo is hurting his case by skipping the proceedings.
“What if we have a scenario where one week he’s there, one week he’s not? The jury’s going to, instead of concentrating on guilt or innocence, the issue is he going to show up or not,” criminal attorney Steve Simonian said.
If convicted, Crimo is expected to get life in prison, with no possibility of parole: all the more reason experts say Crimo should be in court.
“He’s not able to participate in something with such high stakes,” Simonian said.
Crimo III is accused of planning and carrying out the 2022 Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting, killing seven people and injuring nearly 50 others with an assault weapon fired from a rooftop.
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He was initially charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder – three counts for each person killed – as well as 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery.
On Monday, Lake County prosecutors sought to drop the 47 less serious aggravated battery counts in an apparent effort to streamline the case.
Crimo Jr. pleaded guilty in 2023 to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct. The charges focused on how his son obtained a gun license.
Prosecutors said nearly all of the 48 survivors from that day plan to testify. The trial is expected to last three to five weeks.
Judge Rossetti has told jurors the trial will begin at 9 a.m. Monday morning.
About the victims
The victims killed range in age from 8 to 88 years old.
- Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park
- Irina McCarthy, 35, of Highland Park
- Kevin McCarthy, 37, of Highland Park
- Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park
- Stephen Straus, 88, of Highland Park
- Nicolas Toledo-Zargoza, 78 of Morelos, Mexico
- Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, of Waukegan
Irina and Kevin McCarthy’s 2-year-old son was found wandering alone in the wake of the Monday, and safely reunited with his grandparents.
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