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

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Gina20 said:
Robert Steven Wright has been in custody since December 11, 2018. If sentencing were to occur in late June 2023, and if he became eligible for parole in 10 years, Wright could be out of prison in just over 13 months. However, the judge is not likely to give him the minimum eligibility period, due to the violence involved in Renee's murder. There are other factors involved in parole, as discussed previously. However, an appeal would not make much sense in this scenario, IMO. It would take longer for an appeal to wind its way through the courts than time remaining before parole.
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The biggest favour he could do himself is to use this delay to reflect and accept responsibility and express remorse. The violence is a significantly aggravating factor, but just about every other wind blows in his direction. Young at the time of commission, clean record, educated and employed and a signicant support network. The part of me that always assumes the best of people likes to imagine that his reticence is as much about fear and shame as it is about deviousness.
 
I feel bad that Kim may have another delay and period of uncertainty. I was thinking about her today and how suffering is so inequitably distributed in this life. She lost her father to suicide in 1990, her only sibling to murder in 1998, and her struggling mom to MS just a few years later. She lived 20 years thiking about her sister every day not knowing if there would ever be answers, and four more years not knowing if there would be justice. I hope she feels carried just a litte by all the strangers pulling for her and for Renee over the years.
 
JuneBug67 said:
The biggest favour he could do himself is to use this delay to reflect and accept responsibility and express remorse. The violence is a significantly aggravating factor, but just about every other wind blows in his direction. Young at the time of commission, clean record, educated and employed and a signicant support network. The part of me that always assumes the best of people likes to imagine that his reticence is as much about fear and shame as it is about deviousness.
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His lawyer didn't wait for sentencing before making the announcement that his client would be filing an appeal. That tells me something.
 
JuneBug67 said:
The biggest favour he could do himself is to use this delay to reflect and accept responsibility and express remorse. The violence is a significantly aggravating factor, but just about every other wind blows in his direction. Young at the time of commission, clean record, educated and employed and a signicant support network. The part of me that always assumes the best of people likes to imagine that his reticence is as much about fear and shame as it is about deviousness.
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I agree about shame. Especially admitting it to family and friends.

On the other hand, he's so far only been in Sudbury prison, but will now likely be moved into a 'real' prison with other murderers, possibly far from Sudbury.

Once out on parole, I imagine being known to have murdered a defenceless young woman would seriously impact your life - many jobs would not be open to you, meeting new people would be fraught, you'd never be free of your parole officer, couldn't leave the country...

JMO
 
Cedars said:
I agree about shame. Especially admitting it to family and friends.

On the other hand, he's so far only been in Sudbury prison, but will now likely be moved into a 'real' prison with other murderers, possibly far from Sudbury.

Once out on parole, I imagine being known to have murdered a defenceless young woman would seriously impact your life - many jobs would not be open to you, meeting new people would be fraught, you'd never be free of your parole officer, couldn't leave the country...

JMO
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A criminal record for murder would certainly preclude his previous employment in a hospital, working with vulnerable people.
 
musicaljoke said:
Behind the scenes, a summary of events.

www.sudbury.com

BEHIND THE SCENES: The murder case that never went cold

Sudbury.com reporter Jenny Lamothe takes us behind the scenes of possibly the most anticipated murder trial in Sudbury's history
www.sudbury.com www.sudbury.com
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In the video she describes the verdict reaction on Renee’s side as a “roar”. So interesting how we’ve gotten different descriptions. We can hang on single words on Websleuths, and it’s a good reminder how subjective objective reporting can be. She also describes a very emotional and poignant scene on the defendant’s side of the courtroom.

Other new points of interest for me:

-Wright was with his counsel and not in the prisoner’s box as would be standard because the courtroom is large and high-ceilinged and it would have been difficult to hear.

-She changed her writing to provide more detail when she realized what the level of interest was in Northern Ontario. I found her to be the most comprehensive and detailed in her coverage of all on the beat, so it was interesting for me to hear this was a deliberate adjustment she made.
 
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Hastily started thread just now because i was reminded so much of Renee's horrible and peculiar murder.
This young student also worked at a adult store, was found nude, but with no evidence of sexual assault and was brutally murdered. Some cash and many bondage-themed magazines were stolen from the store.
Noting fwiw, imo
www.websleuths.com

NE - NE-Patricia Carol Webb, 24, new employee @ the Adult Book & Cinema Store, her bullet-riddled nude body found @ vacant farm, 20/4/1974

2017 https://journalstar.com/special-section/epilogue/epilogue-38-years-later-patricia-webb-death-still-a-mystery/article_bc73b436-d9a6-52f5-9454-a4717d1096e2.html ''A new employee of the Adult Book and Cinema Store disappeared overnight April 18, 1974, along with 51 bondage-themed adult...
www.websleuths.com www.websleuths.com
 
dotr said:
Hastily started thread just now because i was reminded so much of Renee's horrible and peculiar murder.
This young student also worked at a adult store, was found nude, but with no evidence of sexual assault and was brutally murdered. Some cash and many bondage-themed magazines were stolen from the store.
Noting fwiw, imo
www.websleuths.com

NE - NE-Patricia Carol Webb, 24, new employee @ the Adult Book & Cinema Store, her bullet-riddled nude body found @ vacant farm, 20/4/1974

2017 https://journalstar.com/special-section/epilogue/epilogue-38-years-later-patricia-webb-death-still-a-mystery/article_bc73b436-d9a6-52f5-9454-a4717d1096e2.html ''A new employee of the Adult Book and Cinema Store disappeared overnight April 18, 1974, along with 51 bondage-themed adult...
www.websleuths.com www.websleuths.com
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I'd read about this case in the past. It's interesting to read that profile.

Thinking back to this headline:

A tip, DNA will lead to killer of Renee Sweeney, say police​

www.parrysound.com

ONTARIO COLD CASE: A tip, DNA will lead to killer of Renee Sweeney, say police

On a bitterly cold January morning in 1998, 23-year-old Renee Sweeney was stabbed to death. Along with the heartache, the killer left behind a glove, a lightweight blue jacket and
www.parrysound.com www.parrysound.com

We know that advancements in DNA technology played a major role, along with genetic genealogy. What was in the thousands of tips, and did anything point in the direction of Robert Steven Wright long ago or more recently? Always curious about these things.
 
northernontario.ctvnews.ca

Man sentenced in Sudbury for 1998 Renee Sweeney murder

After being found guilty of second-degree murder in March in the brutal 1998 stabbing death of Renee Sweeney in Sudbury, Robert Steven Wright received his sentence Thursday morning.
northernontario.ctvnews.ca northernontario.ctvnews.ca

12 years. Lower than I think almost everybody expected. Only two years more than the minimum. Doesn't seem appropriate given the violence and the complete lack of expressed remorse.
 

Sweeney Murder File

Extensive news coverage on the murder of Renee Sweeney of Sudbury in 1998 and the court battle of the man accused of killing her.
northernontario.ctvnews.ca northernontario.ctvnews.ca
rbbm.
''The brutal stabbing death of 23-year-old Renee Sweeney rocked the City of Sudbury to its core on Jan. 27, 1998.

Police searched for her killer for two decades and finally charged Robert Steven Wright, who was 18 years old at the time of the murder, in Dec. 2018.

After several delays, the trial began Feb. 21, 2023, just after the 25th anniversary of Sweeney's death. The jury delivered a guilty verdict after five weeks of testimony.

CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca has compiled all of the case coverage below, including archival news footage, the arrest, trial, verdict and now that the publication ban is lifted, we can reveal some exclusive extras.''
 
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