GUILTY Canada - Renee Sweeney, 23, murdered, Sudbury, Ont, 27 Jan 1998 *arrest in 2018*

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http://www.thesudburystar.com/2015/01/27/sudbury-murder-case-still-open-police

"A jacket linked to her murder scene remains the best piece of evidence in solving Renee Sweeney’s murder, Greater Sudbury Police investigators believe.

Sweeney was brutally stabbed to death while working at a now closed Adults Only Video outlet on Paris Street on Jan. 27, 1998.

Sweeney was a 24-year-old Laurentian University student on her way to having a honour's bachelor of arts degree in music and history. She played the trombone for the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra.

Her killer walked into the AVO store in the morning. He stabbed her more than 30 times before fleeing with less than $200 and ran directly past two friends who were coming to see Sweeney."
 
http://www.sudburycrimestoppers.com/Crime Files/Rene Sweeney.aspx

"Description of Suspect

White Male
Early 20s
Height: 5'10" - 6' (178 -183 cm)
Weight: 140 - 150 lbs (64 - 68 kg)
Hair: short and dark
Build: slim
Wearing glasses, jeans, running shoes and a grey-hooded top underneath a light weight teal coloured jacket
A short distance from the scene the suspect abandoned a lightweight jacket and white cotton gloves which was located by police dog track. The light-weight jacket is of particular interest. It is a High Sierra make, made in Korea, and is a size large. Inside the left breast area of the jacket was a large diaper pin"

rbbm
 
http://www.northernlife.ca/news/policeandCourt/2010/01/sweeney-case280110.aspx

“Renée had received a number of hang-up phone calls (at home) during the two weeks prior to her murder,” Toffoli said. “She had a different behaviour. She used to park her car at work on the opposite side of the parking lot, but it was a dark area of the parking lot. In the week prior to the murder, she changed the location of her parking, and she parked directly in front of the store, which she had never done before.

“We’re assuming she did this because she was scared of someone, or something happening to her. We’ve never found out what she was scared of. She never told her family, her friends, or her co-workers.”

The crime, whether it was supposed to be a robbery or a murder, was premeditated, Toffoli said. “He entered the store with gloves, a knife, and very light clothing for the cold temperature that was outside,” the sergeant explained."
 
We had the same music teacher. She was a bright, talented young student. Her death lingers in my mind. How can the killer still be unknown after all this time?
 
The amazing and horrifying thing, is that although Rennee was stabbed 30 times, she managed to crawl behind the counter whilst the killer, assuming she was dead, washed up in the store bathroom. When he returned and saw that she was still alive, he attacked her again until she died!
The monster grabbed $200 from the cash register, but i wonder if the money was a "bonus" or red herring, for him, or if the motive was straight up robbery?
If it was a robbery, why was it such a violent overkill?
Since Rennee received nuisance phone calls at home prior to the murder, yet was not scheduled to be at work on that day, could it be that the killer was watching her home and knew she was at the store?
Did he confuse her for a different female employee?
 
http://www.thesudburystar.com/2015/01/28/pov-sweeney-murder-still-haunts-sudbury

"Renee Sweeney would be 40 today if she were still alive. There's no way of knowing for sure, but it would be nice to think she would be happily married with a couple of children and in the midst of a successful music career.

She would have been there for her younger sister Kim, herself the mother of two children. And she would have been there for her mother, Carol, as she battles MS, and for her stepfather, Bill Strachan, before he died in 2013.

Renee was stabbed to death on Jan. 27, 1998, at the now-defunct Adults Only Video on Paris Street. She wasn't even supposed to be at work that day; normally she would have been off, but had switched shifts so she could take part in a Sudbury Symphony Orchestra performance, Kim Sweeney told The Star last year.

Renee was a talented music student at Laurentian University, working at the video store to help pay for her education.

Her killer, who has never been brought to justice, would also likely be in his 40s, if he's still alive"

rbbm
 
Lengthy article,rbbm.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/sweeney-murder-dna-1.3250941

Renee Sweeney's murder suspect has 'good DNA profile' — but no hits yet
Investigators wonder if the DNA databank system is working as it should

CBC News Posted: Oct 01, 2015
Sudbury police know almost everything about the man who murdered 23-year-old Renee Sweeney — except his name.

They have his gloves and his windbreaker. They have a partial fingerprint and shoe print. They have his DNA.

It is that DNA, that one investigator believes may end up solving the murder.

Sergeant David Toffoli has a stack of banker's boxes of notes he took during the several years he worked on the case. They are a silent reminder in the corner of his small office. He said they're a fraction of the case file which filled sixty boxes.

The murder happened January 27, 1998. Police notes showed the temperature was -17 C and there was light snow. Renee was working the Adult Only Video store at 1500 Paris Street.

Her high school friend, Catherine Valiaho, said Renee didn't fit the stereotype of an adult video store clerk. She wasn't involved in the sex trade.


There is a huge amount of physical evidence: a windbreaker-type jacket made in Korea and sold only in California, a diaper pin in the pocket, and a pair of white work gloves. Police have a partial fingerprint and footprint.

Police hired an OPP profiler who said the suspect was male, in his late teens or early twenties, lived in Sudbury, and worked in the service industry.

As much as Toffoli put his faith in the DNA databank, he said the lack of a match indicated the man who committed this crime just hasn't committed any other major crimes in Canada that would compel him to give DNA to the registry.
 
rbbmhttp://www.thesudburystar.com/2015/01/27/sudbury-murder-case-still-open-police
1297519342423_ORIGINAL.jpg
Renee Sweeney (left) poses with younger sister Kim for a studio portrait in October, 1997, three months before Renee was murdered.

A jacket linked to her murder scene remains the best piece of evidence in solving Renee Sweeney’s murder, Greater Sudbury Police investigators believe

Police were able to find a bloodstained, blue High Sierra jacket and white cotton garden gloves in a wooded area off Walford Road. A diaper pin was in the left breast area of the jacket. The style of jacket worn by the killer was sold exclusively by Mervyns department store in the U.S. in 1994 or 1995.

Investigators were also able to collect a fingerprint they believe was left by the murderer, as well as a shoe print from a black and white Brooks running shoe.





it is believed the most reliable piece of evidence is the jacket discarded by the perpetrator while in the process of fleeing the scene. Physical DNA evidence links this jacket to the crime scene.

“There have been advancements in DNA technology since 1998 and as such, the evidence has been re-examined by the Centre of Forensic Sciences. Police investigators are encouraging anyone who believes they recognize the jacket and who may have owned, lent or borrowed it to contact police.”
 
Just a wild thought, concerning the large diaper pin in the suspect's pocket- besides all the usual uses a pin might have, if someone lost a kilt pin, maybe they would temporarily use a baby pin?
Did Rennee ever play in a marching band or something where a kilt is the uniform?
imo. speculation.
 
Bumping for Renee with description of eye-glass wearing suspect.
Wanted on murder.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/wanted/murder-suspect
On Tuesday January 27 1998, at 11am, a 23 year old female clerk working at an Adults Only Video in Sudbury, Ontario, was stabbed to death. The victim was Renée Sweeney, a fourth-year Laurentian University student. Cash and other items were missing from the store.

The suspect abandoned a lightweight jacket and white cotton gloves a short distance from the scene. These items were located by police dog track. The lightweight jacket is of particular interest. It is a High Sierra brand, made in Korea, and is a size large.

As a result of further investigation, suitable DNA evidence was located at and near the scene of the crime. The police are now using this DNA as an investigative tool and to date have eliminated over 1200 suspects primarily through DNA analysis.

Working in conjunction with the Greater Sudbury Police Service.
rbbm.



Age: early 20s
Hair: short and dark
Weight: 140 - 150 lbs (64 - 68 kg)
Height: 5'10" - 6' (178 -183 cm)
Build: slim
Wearing glasses, jeans, running shoes and grey-hooded top underneath a light weight teal coloured jacket
 
Wondering, but assuming that the diaper pin was tested , perhaps for drugs, but considering the suspect was in an "Adult store " maybe the pin was a part of some fetish, perhaps one that the victim laughed at, or if it involved kids, perhaps threatened to report?
January in Ontario and most other Canadian locales, would be very cold- one would be unlikely to wear white clothing and a light jacket, imo. The jacket was apparently only sold in California, could the perp be a visitor from there?
imo, speculation.

https://www.sudbury.com/police/sweeneys-murder-remains-unsolved-16-years-later-248912
Jan 27, 2014


“All it takes is that one tip,” he said. “One tip could lead us directly to the killer. The person may think it’s an insignificant tip, but for us, it may be the tip that leads us to (the murderer).”

However, he also said people need to realize so much time has passed the suspect may no longer look like he did then.

The suspect may have longer hair, may have no hair, or may have grown facial hair. He may have gained weight. The suspect may now wear contacts or have had surgery, or may only wear the glasses for reading.


The suspect abandoned a lightweight jacket and white cotton clothes, which was located by a police dog.

The jacket was from the brand High Sierra, made in Korea, and is a size large. Inside the left breast area of the jacket was a large diaper pin.
rbbm.
 

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/new-tech-for-gsps-1.3947875
Police say they believe this updated sketch will lead to new information and help them solve the nearly 20-year-old case.

Police urge this isn't a photo ID of their suspect, but a sketch to spark someone's memory from 1998. The man is around 25 years old in the image, but would be around 20 years older now.
renee-sweeney.JPG
Renee Sweeney was killed while working as a clerk at the Adults Only Video store on Paris St. in 1998. Her murder remains unsolved, despite police having DNA samples, and other evidence taken from the crime scene. (Supplied)
If you have any information, you can call the Greater Sudbury Police Service at 705-675-9171 x 2320 or Rainbow Crime Stoppers at 705-222-8477(TIPS).
We'll bring you more information throughout the day.
 
Updated.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/new-tech-for-gsps-1.3947875
Police say they believe this updated sketch will lead to new information and help them solve the nearly 20-year-old case. By using Snapshot, police can eliminate people who don't fit this more accurate description and put those who do higher up on their list of suspects.
The technology confirms the suspect is a white man, a note given by witnesses back in 1998. The fact that he has blue-green eyes, brown-blonde hair, and his ancestry is northern European is thanks to this new software.
[h=2]Focus on tips from 1998[/h] The man in the image is shown around 25 years old, the age police believe him to be in 1998. The investigative team isn't aging the photo because they're trying to spark memories from that time.
"The aging process presumes that the person is still alive," Chief Pedersen says. "We're trying to get the memories of January 1998, then investigate forward from that."
All information and tips on this case are welcome. Police say they're looking for a name, and where that person could be now.
Though the 20-year mark is coming up, Chief Pedersen says the police force is still working hard on this cold case.
"The word cold doesn't mean uninvestigated," he says. "There has never been a time since 1998 that the investigation hasn't moved forward and investigators haven't looked at new tips. This highlights investigators keeping their eyes open to techniques going on around the world, and bring it back and use it here in Sudbury."

adults-only-video.JPG
This crime scene photo shows Renee Sweeney's car parked in front of the crime scene. (Greater Sudbury Police Service)
 
So glad this new technology is being used, hopefully it helps solve this case... Crazy thought: When I watch the Ancestry.com commercials, they always talk about being able to run your DNA to help find long lost relatives. I wonder if this type of thing has ever been done with the suspects DNA? It may not lead us directly to HIM, but could link him to family members? Would certainly narrow down the search if they had a family tree to start weeding thru. Like I say, maybe it's a crazy thought.
 
So glad this new technology is being used, hopefully it helps solve this case... Crazy thought: When I watch the Ancestry.com commercials, they always talk about being able to run your DNA to help find long lost relatives. I wonder if this type of thing has ever been done with the suspects DNA? It may not lead us directly to HIM, but could link him to family members? Would certainly narrow down the search if they had a family tree to start weeding thru. Like I say, maybe it's a crazy thought.

We share the same crazy thought, in my fevered little brain sometimes wonder if occasionally dna sites are in fact mined for familial connections in these cases.
Renee was so brutally murdered in the morning, practically in public too and she almost might have saved herself if the guy did not attack her yet again - so, imo, if LE can find her killer using any method necessary to accomplish that, all the better!
imo, speculation.
 

Do you think he looks like Luke Dilenardi who lived in Sudbury at the time, but disappeared without a trace from Sault Ste. Marie in 2005? The age would be about right. I think that the original police drawing of the accused looks more like Dilenardi than the techno snapshot.

http://www.gsps.ca/en/crimefiles/historicalmissingpersons.asp
 
Cannot believe how bold ( or crazy ) that guy was to do what he did, then wash his hands at the store and all while customers were arriving!
Maybe he is from " Northern Europe " and not concerned about getting identified, imo.
Hoping that Wsers from that part of the world might read this thread and send tips if they happen to recognize this guy or his" style of crime".
imo, speculation.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/c...police-release-sketch-of-suspect-based-on-dna
attachment.php

For Det. Sgt. David Toffoli, who was lead investigator on the Sweeney slaying for nearly a decade and is now a forensic supervisor with the Sudbury police force, solving the homicide would be a personal victory.

“I’ve been on it for almost two-thirds of my career and it’s definitely stuck with me,” he said in a telephone interview. “A lot of work has gone into it, a lot of hours of policing. And it’s definitely one of those cases that I want to solve before I retire.”
Sweeney, 23, was a student at Sudbury’s Laurentian University at the time of her death.
She was studying music and playing frequent shows with the local symphony orchestra in the evenings
, Toffoli said, adding she took the job in “the *advertiser censored* store” because the hours better suited her schedule.
Her death came in the middle of her shift on Jan. 27, 1998, and has been isolated to a 15-minute window.
Toffoli said Sweeney was on the phone to a co-worker across town at 11:15 a.m. and indicated that a customer had entered the store. Two more customers walked in at 11:30 in time to see a single male suspect fleeing the scene.
The profile also never surfaced in other databases either in Canada or the United States, a source of frustration for officers involved.

Past examples have shown that the images generated through phenotyping are often quite accurate when compared against photos of the suspects they help to catch, he said, adding people should pay attention to details.

“They’re not identical, but there’s always a resemblance there,” Toffoli said. “And that’s what we’re hoping for, that people will look at this Parabon composite and just see that resemblance — whether it’s the shape of the nose, the chin, the eyes — and call that tip into us.”
rbbm.
 

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