Second-guessing fingerprint ID, shoeprint evidence in Sweeney murder investigation

A former Sudbury police forensics officer testified in court Tuesday he thought it was a "joke" when he heard John Fetterly had been charged with the murder of Renee Sweeney.

Rick Waugh said he had already ruled Fetterly out as a suspect, something further confirmed when an RCMP analysis didn’t find a match.

Fetterly was arrested Feb. 10, 1998, for the murder of Renee Sweeney, who was found stabbed to death in Adults Only Video in a Paris Street strip mall on Jan. 27 of that year.

Robert Steven Wright is on trial for second-degree murder for Sweeney’s death and has been in jail since his arrest in December 2018.

Assistant Crown attorney Kevin Ludgate asked Waugh about the events leading to Fetterly’s arrest.

"The investigation into the death of Renee Sweeny took a turn?" Ludgate asked.

"Yes," Waugh said, adding he was directed to go to where Fetterly was arrested to gather forensic evidence.

Last week, the court heard that former forensics officer Todd Zimmerman admitted he made a mistake linking a bloody fingerprint found on the cash tray at the video store to Fetterly – a mistake that led to the arrest.

Fetterly was released two days later on Feb. 12, 1998.

Waugh testified that he tried to call Zimmerman before he went to the scene. Zimmerman had been fingerprinting suspects arrested the night before, including Fetterly.

Waugh wanted to find out whether Fetterly was wearing Brooks running shoes since footprints with the Brooks logo were found in the bathroom at the crime scene.

"I was definitely shocked," Waugh said.

"I thought I knew the print very well ... I didn’t believe (the print) was John Fetterly’s … It was just crazy. I was shocked. I was upset. I was surprised. I thought it was a joke. I found out subsequently it wasn’t a joke."

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WAS THERE A MISTAKE?

He began to second-guess himself, Waugh said, and made the mistake of looking at the bloody fingerprint with someone else – something forensics officers aren’t supposed to do.

He said he began to change his view that maybe it was Fetterly’s print.

Under cross-examination by Crown prosecutor Rob Parsons, fingerprint expert Jeff Myatt said he was asked to examine two fingerprint impressions from the crime scene: a bloody print found on top of the cash tray at the crime scene, and a latent print found under the cash tray. (Supplied)

He went back into the darkroom and began enhancing the photos and studied them for the rest of the day.

"I started convincing myself that it had to be from (Fetterly’s) left thumb," Waugh said.

"I was wrong."

Still, he wondered how his colleagues had made the match when it had been sent to the RCMP for analysis and they had failed to match the print with Fetterly.

So, he called the RCMP, quite upset, and asked them what had happened. Officers there told him they would look into it and get back to him.

At that point in the witness testimony, court broke for lunch.

BROOKS RUNNING SHOE EVIDENCE

Earlier in the morning, the jury heard Waugh describe the Brooks running shoe footprints taken from the bathroom of the crime scene.

Brooks shoe prints found in bathroom of Adults Only Video after Renee Sweeney was murdered in Sudbury Jan. 27, 1998. (Supplied)

He contacted officials with Brooks, who provided a list of stores in Sudbury that sold the shoe. He found what he believed to be the best match to the shoe was a size 9 at Sears and grabbed a pair – adding he had permission to take them.

"I did not steal them," he said, in a rare light moment at the trial.

"It was the closest impression I had seen from my photographs."

Officials with Sears told Waugh that they had 17 pairs of that particular shoe in stock and had only sold four pairs since receiving the shoes in summer 1996.

Waugh also testified that he processed footprint impressions found at a Nepahwin Avenue address that police believed were linked to the case.

When he arrived, he said the footprints were covered in boxes to keep them intact. He painted a type of red wax on the footprints to preserve them and bring out more detail.

"At that time, I photographed both footwear impressions," Waugh said.

He also described the process of how Sweeney’s remains were removed from the crime scene, first being placed on a drop sheet, then a body bag and a sealed metal container. That took place around 3:44 p.m. the day of the murder.

Ludgate asked Waugh whether he covered Sweeney's hands in bags before she was removed from the store where she was killed.

"I did not," Waugh said.

The trial continues Tuesday afternoon. CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca will continue to follow the court case and will have another update Tuesday evening. Find all of the trial coverage here.