CHICAGO — Highland Park police were called to the family home of the alleged Independence Day parade sniper at least nine times between 2010 and 2014 in response to domestic disputes, according to newly released police records.
Most of the incidents involved allegations of verbal or physical altercations between the shooting suspect’s parents, Robert Crimo Jr. and Denise Pesina. The reports, released by the Highland Park Police Department, paint a picture of the sometimes tumultuous home where Robert “Bobby” Crimo III grew up before he allegedly shot dozens of people enjoying a Fourth of July parade. Seven of those shot died, and Bobby Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.
During one altercation in August 2010, Crimo Jr. told police his relationship with Pesina was “failing,” and that Pesina had struck him in the head with her shoe and was intoxicated. Pesina told police that Crimo Jr. had “disrespected and belittled” her after making comments about her appearance, and that those comments led her to drink. Police said they offered Pesina a packet with information about domestic violence, but that she reported already having a packet from a different domestic incident days earlier.
