The mother of a young boy paralyzed in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park in 2022 shared her message for the gunman sentenced to life in prison for the attack Thursday.
“You and I have just one thing in common," the message from Keely Roberts began. "You and I are both going to be serving life sentences without parole."
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WATCH HERERoberts and her son, Cooper Roberts, now 10, were among the 48 people wounded in the shooting that also left seven people dead. The younger Roberts was left paralyzed from the attack.
On Thursday, Robert Crimo III was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, one for each of the seven victims he pleaded guilty to killing in the July 4 mass shooting. He was also sentenced to 50 years for each count of attempted murder in the case, with all 48 sentences to be served concurrently.
“This court has absolutely no words that could capture the pain and horror of that July 4,” Judge Victoria Rossetti said. “This court finds he has a complete disregard for human life….(and) no sentence can ever change (that day).”
The judge described Crimo as being “beyond any rehabilitation,” and called him a “coward hiding behind a skirt, makeup and an assault weapon” in perpetrating the shooting.
The sentence reflected what prosecutors had sought in the case, with Crimo’s defense attorneys saying their client had “resigned himself” to a natural life sentence, opting not to provide their own recommendation during the process.
Though he was not present during the sentencing hearing, it didn't stop victims from sharing their impact statements.
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SIGN UP Still, for the Roberts family, justice will never be served.
"You will serve your sentence for the intentional, evil, cowardly and violent acts you committed that day against entirely innocent people. And I will serve mine living every day with the horror and trauma and permanent, life-changing injuries you wrought upon my 8-year-old twin sons – you robbed them of their health and childhood. … and for not being able to protect them from you," Keely Roberts said.
The mother was not alone in her grief shared following the sentencing hearing in Lake County Thursday.
Liz Turnipseed, who still walks with a cane after she was shot in her pelvis while attending the 2022 parade with her husband and their daughter, was present at the courthouse for the pivotal moment.
“I have a now 6-year-old and I can’t run…if I’m in a lot of pain, I can’t get down on the ground and play dolls with her," Turnipseed said.
Still, she noted that "at the end of the day, [Crimo is] the loser."
"He’s going to prison for the rest of his life. We’re never going to have to see him again," she said.
“While I don’t have closure, it’s closing a chapter on this part of our lives," she added.
But some survivors say the sentence isn't enough, arguing for U.S. attorneys to file terrorism charges.
“Somebody who has domestic, federal domestic terrorism charge would go to a SuperMax prison where they would spend most of their time in solitary confinement. They would be eligible for the death penalty," said survivor Ashley Beasley.
Prosecutors said the Department of Corrections will determine which Illinois prison the gunman is sent to. He is expected to be transferred from the Lake County Jail in the next few days.
