Prosecutors originally charged Crimo with 21 counts of first-degree murder, three for each person killed, and 48 counts of attempted murder.<\/p>\n
They dropped 48 less serious counts of aggravated battery before jury selection last week.<\/p>\n
Judge Victoria Rossetti read the charges to Crimo and asked questions to ensure he understood before his new plea was read to the court today in Lake County,\u00a0Illinois<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n He mostly gave one-word answers and indicated he understood the charges.<\/p>\n The plea change means the trial – which had been expected to last a month – will not go ahead, the judge told the court.<\/p>\n “He has knowingly and voluntarily waived those rights and pleaded guilty,” Rossetti said.<\/p>\n The proceedings were briefly interrupted as the defendant’s mother had a brief outburst at her son’s plea change. She was called to the bench and given a warning but allowed to stay in the courtroom.<\/p>\n Crimo will be sentenced on 23 April and is certain to spend the rest of his life behind bars as each first-degree murder count carries a natural life prison sentence.<\/p>\n The change of plea shocked those in the courtroom and Ashbey Beasley, who attended the 2022 parade with her son, said it was a huge relief.<\/p>\n Ms Beasley and her son had to run for their lives, she said, and while they were not injured, they have needed to heal.<\/p>\n “Every single time I see [Crimo], it’s stressful,” she told reporters. “It’s upsetting for everyone in our community,” she told reporters after court. “We all just wanted this to be over.”<\/p>\n Read more: In a\u00a0Chicago<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0suburb around 30 miles north of the city, Crimo perched on a roof and fired into crowds gathered for a Fourth of July parade in 2022, authorities said.<\/p>\n Witnesses described confusion as the shots began, before panic as families fled the parade route to find safety, leaving prams, pushchairs and belongings behind.<\/p>\n The seven people killed in the shooting included an 88-year-old man and a married couple.<\/p>\n The dozens injured ranged in age from an eight-year-old boy, who was left partially paralysed, to someone in their eighties.<\/p>\n Source: \u00a0
\nCrimo’s violent online trail<\/a>
\nDad hid son in bin as shooting unfolded<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Sky](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sky-news-logo-1.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a> news.sky.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"