Robert Steven Wright found guilty in Renee Sweeney murder
CTV News has learned the jury in the Robert Steven Wright, 43, has found him guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Renee Sweeney in Sudbury, Ont., on Jan. 27, 1998.
He was arrested and charged with her murder in December 2018 and has been in jail since.
Robert Steven Wright, 43, is on trial for second-degree murder in the 1998 death of Renee Sweeney. He took the stand Monday afternoon to testify in his own defence. (File)
A second-degree murder conviction in Canada comes with an automatic life in prison sentence, with parole eligibility between 10 to 25 years as decided by a judge.
After five weeks of testimony, that began Feb. 21, a Sudbury jury of 12 started deliberating Tuesday after one alternate jury member was excused.
CTV News learned it reached a verdict shortly before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Extra police have been deployed to the courthouse and four additional officers outside searching everyone's bags as they enter.
Three officers are standing by Wright inside the courtroom.
The defendant's family is in the courtroom.
The jury was led into the courtroom at 4:12 p.m. and delivered their guilty verdict.
Less than 10 minutes later, Justice Robbie Gordon sent them back out to come up with a sentencing recommendation.
Shortly after 4:30 p.m., the jury returned to the courtroom to deliver its recommendations of Wright serve 20 to 25 years in custody before he is eligible for parole, less time served in pre-trial custody.
Gordon released the jury and reminded members it is against the law to talk about anything that was discussed during deliberations with anyone unless called to testify in court.
Defence attorney Michael Lacy told CTV News Wright will appeal the conviction.
We will continue to follow this breaking news story and provide updates as soon as they become available.
CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca has been inside the courtroom for the entire trial, find previous coverage here.
Background
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. He has been held in jail since his arrest in Dec. 2018.
After several delays, the trial began Feb. 21, 2023, just after the 25th anniversary of Sweeney's death.
CTV News Digital content producer Darren MacDonald is bringing the latest from the courtroom every day and will have full coverage of the trial here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.