7 killed, dozens wounded in 4th of July parade shooting
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) -- The trial for the suspect in the 2022 Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting has begun.
Robert Crimo III is accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens in the mass shooting.
The trial in Waukegan is expected to last weeks.
Stick with ABC7 Chicago for the latest updates.
The final alternate was selected, completing the jury Wednesday evening.
He's a man who works as a cook, and lives with his mother.
He also plays video games.
The jury is comprised of retirees, suburban mothers and fathers, several gun owners and video game enthusiasts.
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.
Public defender Gregory Ticsay met with Crimo's father Wednesday, and urged him to get his son to come to court.
Robert Crimo III will not be in court on Wednesday.
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 Rosetti reminded attorneys that jury selection will proceed without the defendant.
Crimo's father was also not in court on Wednesday morning.
Robert Crimo III will not be in court on Wednesday.
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 Rosetti reminded attorneys that jury selection will proceed without the defendant.
Crimo's father was also not in court on Wednesday morning.
"I don't think people are capable of realizing the unconscious biases they have a lot of times. We call it the sleeper effect, where jurors don't really remember everything that they heard about it at the time, but as they hear more evidence, it triggers memories People believe they can put it aside, but they have unconscious biases," Dave Zehner said.
Zehner said jury selection is moving quickly for a trial of this magnitude.
"A lot of times the selections for cases like this take weeks, and they go through hundreds of jurors. They're moving through this at a very fast rate, and they probably will have a jury by the end of the week, which is almost unheard of for a prosecution like this," he said.
Jury selection for Tuesday wrapped up about 4:30 p.m.
It will continue Wednesday morning.
A Lake County man has been selected as the 11th juror.
He said he is an avid video game player.
He lived out of state at the time of the Highland Park parade shooting.
Now there are six men and five women on the jury.
Crimo's father returned to the courtroom late Tuesday afternoon, after leaving in the morning.
Crimo III remains absent.
The 10th juror, a woman, was selected Tuesday afternoon.
The count now stands at five women, five men on the jury.
