Northern Ont. family ‘ecstatic’ as 25-year-old murder mystery finally solved
CTV
Robert Steven Wright was convicted Wednesday of murdering Renee Sweeney, a little more than 25 years after her brutal killing shocked the community.
Robert Steven Wright was convicted Wednesday of murdering Renee Sweeney, a little more than 25 years after her brutal killing shocked the northern Ontario community of Sudbury.
Jurors took just more than 24 hours to convict Wright, 43, of second degree murder in Sweeney’s death.
She was working as a clerk at Adults Only Video at a Paris Street strip mall Jan. 27, 1998, when she was stabbed 27 times and bled to death.
The case remained unsolved until Wright was arrested Dec. 18, 2018, at the North Bay hospital, where he worked as a lab tech.
Advances in DNA evidence allowed police to identify Wright as the owner of DNA found under Sweeney’s fingernails. His fingerprints were found underneath and on top of the cash tray.
While it took more than four years to bring the case to trial, a verdict came quickly. The jury began deliberations Tuesday afternoon and returned with a decision the following afternoon.
Extra security was on hand in the courthouse and the families were cautioned to treat each other with respect once the verdict was read.
