WAUKEGAN, IL — The trial of the man accused of the murder of seven people and the wounding of dozens of others at the Highland Park Independence Day parade is scheduled to begin Feb. 24, 2025.
Bobby Crimo, 23, appeared in court for a case management conference Wednesday in Waukegan, where he remains detained at the Lake County Jail as he awaits trial on 117 felony counts in connection with the July 4, 2022, massacre.
After dismissing his court-appointed attorneys in December, Crimo briefly represented himself and demanded a speedy trial, which was placed on the calendar for next week.
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But Crimo reversed course last month and again requested help from a team of public defenders, who sough to push the trial back to a date in February 2025 that they and prosecutors had already mutually agreed to.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart objected, noting the “significant resources” his office had dedicated to preparing for trial, and pushed for the trial to be held in either September or October of 2024 instead. Rinehart is running for a second term in office in the November election.
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Crimo, who appeared this week for the first time with closely cropped hair, is no longer in administrative segregation inside the jail, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon again asked the judge to schedule the trial before the end of October.
“We did anticipate we would have been ready for next week, and we would be ready earlier than February of 2025,” Dillon said.
But Dillon also said he informed Crimo’s lead attorney that they are still missing some photos and “foundational materials” from the Highland Park Police Department, which would need to be turned over to the defense.
The prosecutor said he had recently provided public defenders additional discovery, including X-rays from the coroner’s office and an FBI report.
Assistant Public Defender Anton Trizna said he believes a trial date of early next year is realistic and noted that prosecutors previously did not seem to have “an issue with it.”
Lake County Circuit Judge Victoria Rossetti decided to stick with the trial schedule that the assistant public defenders and state’s attorneys worked out last year.
“Just because Mr. Crimo for a short period of time asked to represent himself,” Rosetti said, “I don’t think that that should change the trial date.”
Crimo faces 21 counts of first-degree murder, three for each of the seven slain paradegoers — Katie Goldstein, Irina McCarthy, Kevin McCarthy, Stephen Straus, Jacki Sundheim, Nicolás Toledo and Eduardo Uvaldo.
Following the hearing, Rinehart issued a statement reiterating his office’s readiness for Crimo’s trial.
“Our team of prosecutors and victim specialist have been meeting with and talking with the victims since this horrible crime. We will continue to do so,” Rinehart said. “The most important thing is that we secure certain justice as best as we can for the victims, families, survivors, and the entire Lake County community.”
Crimo is due back in court for a status hearing April 24.
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