Renee Sweeney murder trial rescheduled to next year, here is why
After being in jail for more than three years, the man accused of the brutal murder of a Sudbury woman in 1998 will stand trial next year.
Renee Sweeney was a 23-year-old student at Laurentian University who worked as a part-time clerk at Adults Only Video. She was stabbed to death while working at the store sometime between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 27, 1998. (File)
The trial for the man accused of killing Renee Sweeney, Robert Steven Wright, was originally scheduled for May 2021 but was postponed to that fall due to the pandemic. Two weeks before his trial was to begin in October 2021, Wright's lawyer, Berk Keaney, declared a conflict of interest, leading him to hire Michael Lacy as his new lead counsel.
For Lacy to get up to speed on the case, the trial was tentatively postponed again until September 2022.
Lacy confirmed to CTV News in an email the trial is now scheduled to begin Feb. 21, 2023, just after the 25th anniversary of Sweeney's murder.
The new adjournment is due to Lacy's availability, as the court heard he is scheduled to represent someone else in another matter elsewhere.
Robert Steven Wright was arrested in December 2018 while he was at work in North Bay and has been in jail ever since after being denied bail several times.
The original charge of first-degree murder was changed to second-degree murder in August 2019.
Wright was an 18-year-old high school senior when 23-year-old Sweeney was brutally stabbed to death at Adults Only Video on Paris Street, where she worked as a clerk.
Robert Steven WrightDue to a publication ban, CTV News is not able to report any of the details of the case.
Robert Steven Wright was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the murder of Renee Sweeney
The trial has not yet begun and none of the charges has been proven in court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.