Law enforcement made frequent visits to the suspect in the Highland Park, Ill., shooting’s house over the years, according to recently released police records.
Police records from 2009 to 2014 showed domestic disputes between Robert Crimo III’s parents, Robert Crimo Jr. and Denise Pesina, that included allegations of both verbal and physical abuse.
In one of the police reports dating back to 2010, Crimo Jr. claimed that Pesina “had hit him with a screwdriver on the left forearm,” but later refused to add that to his written statement.
In another incident, he alleged she hit him on the head with a shoe.
A report from August 2010 detailed claims from Crimo Jr. that an argument started because of their “failing relationship” after he said he came home to find his wife intoxicated.
Pesina told police that she was upset from an incident earlier in the day when Crimo Jr. had “disrespected and belittled” her and the argument began after he “began commenting on her poor appearance.”
The reports also detail episodes of intoxication and multiple, escalating arguments. The documents also include allegations of harassment from a neighbor, but no arrests were made in connection to these reports.
The release of information comes days after officials said the suspect in the Fourth of July shooting — which left at least seven dead — threatened to “kill everyone” at his house in September 2019, leading police to arrive and confiscate knives he had collected.
There has also been additional scrutiny after reports emerged that Crimo Jr. had signed a consent form for his son to apply for gun ownership and is currently under investigation to determine whether he is criminally culpable for the shooting.
Crimo Jr. sponsored his son’s firearm owner ID application when his son was still under 21 and his son legally obtained five guns, despite previously threatening to kill family members as well as attempting suicide.