SUDBURY -- A man accused of second-degree murder in a case dating back 22 years in Sudbury was denied bail for the second time on Thursday.

Justice Edward Gareau released his decision via teleconference to adhere to physical distancing guidelines. The accused, Robert Steven Wright, joined the proceeding by phone from the Sudbury jail.

Wright was arrested in December 2018 in North Bay where he was working as a lab technician. He was charged with the brutal stabbing of Renee Sweeney at the Adults Only Video Store in January of 1998.

At the time of Sweeney's murder, Wright was 18 years old and attending Lockerby Composite High School in Sudbury, not far from the murder scene.

He was originally charged with first-degree murder, but that charge has been downgraded to second-degree murder.

This is the second time Wright has been denied bail following a similar decision last March.

We can't report on the reasons for the decision or any of the evidence because of a court-imposed publication ban.

Wright's lawyers have filed an application to move his trial out of Sudbury. That hearing was scheduled for May 11-12, but has been postponed.