GUILTY Canada - Renee Sweeney, 23, murdered, Sudbury, Ont, 27 Jan 1998 *arrest in 2018*

[dotr]

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens...-lead-to-break-in-sudbury-cold-case-1.3953367

"It's one of the most violent cases I've come across in 29 years. It was a violent attack on a totally innocent person and I've never seen anything else like it." - Det. Sgt. David Toffoli
​

Audio.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/popup/audio...reak-in-sudbury-cold-case&contentid=1.3953367

[h=1] As It Happens [/h] [h=2]with Carol Off and Jeff Douglas[/h]

 

[musicaljoke]

Do you think he looks like Luke Dilenardi who lived in Sudbury at the time, but disappeared without a trace from Sault Ste. Marie in 2005? The age would be about right. I think that the original police drawing of the accused looks more like Dilenardi than the techno snapshot.

http://www.gsps.ca/en/crimefiles/historicalmissingpersons.asp

Dilenardi disappeared from the Garden River Reserve. His car was found, but not a trace of the man, even after 20 days of searching. The Garden River Reserve is the closest point between the US and Canadian border along highway 17 from Sault Ste Marie to Sudbury.

I wish I knew how to post a side by side picture of the police drawing and Dilenardi. Perhaps it's all just a coincidence, but imo, they look very much alike.

 

[dotr]

Dilenardi disappeared from the Garden River Reserve. His car was found, but not a trace of the man, even after 20 days of searching. The Garden River Reserve is the closest point between the US and Canadian border along highway 17 from Sault Ste Marie to Sudbury.

I wish I knew how to post a side by side picture of the police drawing and Dilenardi. Perhaps it's all just a coincidence, but imo, they look very much alike.

Not sure how to do a side by side either, tried this for now.

http://www.gsps.ca/en/crimefiles/historicalmissingpersons.asp http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/...case-1.3953367

​

 

[know_what_i'm_sayin']

Do you think he looks like Luke Dilenardi who lived in Sudbury at the time, but disappeared without a trace from Sault Ste. Marie in 2005? The age would be about right. I think that the original police drawing of the accused looks more like Dilenardi than the techno snapshot.

http://www.gsps.ca/en/crimefiles/historicalmissingpersons.asp

Back to my DNA comparison obsession... could they not run the DNA and compare it with a family member of Luke? He does resemble the composite sketch. But, then again, there is probably only so much of the sample available... I suppose it can't be run against every possibility as it's limited to the small bit that was gathered from under Renée's finger nails.

 

[musicaljoke]

Back to my DNA comparison obsession... could they not run the DNA and compare it with a family member of Luke? He does resemble the composite sketch. But, then again, there is probably only so much of the sample available... I suppose it can't be run against every possibility as it's limited to the small bit that was gathered from under Renée's finger nails.

They could run the DNA comparison if they had a sample of Stacy (who changed his name to Luke)'s DNA and it was on their radar to do it. Perhaps he's been investigated already. I might call the Sudbury Police to find out, and if I hear that Stacy/Luke has been eliminated as a suspect, I'll post it here.

There's an article about the disappearance of Luke in the Sault Star. Maybe he should have his own thread.

* November 2005: The damaged car of Stacy Dilenardi, 30, is found by a trapper in Duncan Township, just northeast of Sault Ste. Marie's city limits. He moved to the city from Sudbury three months earlier.

"A second search in the spring does not find the missing man.

""We can't lose sight of the possibility that he walked out and he's somewhere else," said Const. Bill Mackan of Ontario Provincial Police in May 2006.

""We're looking for any evidence that he is still there and he's dead or that he walked out. So far we have found nothing at all to indicate, other than his car, that he was there. No shoes. No clothes. No personal belongings."

http://www.saultstar.com/2010/10/18/a-look-at-local-missing-persons-cases-still-on-the-books

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/...l+sudbury+stabbing+police/12842849/story.html

“We’re very happy with the number of tips we’ve gotten,” said Staff-Sgt. Jordan Buchanan, case manager for the Sweeney investigation with Greater Sudbury Police. “I don’t know if I’d call it a flood of tips, but it’s certainly a very high number for a fairly old investigation.”

As of Thursday, the service had fielded 188 tips since it released a phenotype image on Jan. 23 that shows what the male suspect — believed to be in his mid-20s in 1998 — would have looked like at the time of the murder...

None of the new tips has yet led to a suspect being developed, let alone charged, but police are still looking into many of the leads and only a third have been firmly ruled out so far.

 

[dotr]

First time to notice that other items were missing besides the cash, wondering if they were items from the adult themed store, or things belonging to Renee?
rbbm

http://www.gsps.ca/en/crimefiles/unsolvedcrimes.asp

On Tuesday January 27, 1998 at 11 a.m., a 23 year old female clerk working at an Adults Only Video in Sudbury was stabbed to death. The victim was Renée Sweeney, a fourth-year Laurentian University student. Cash and other items were missing from the store. A short distance from teh scene, the suspect abondoned a lightweight jacke and white cotton gloves which was located bhy a police dog.

Citizens with new information regarding the incident or the suspect are urged to contact the Greater Sudbury Police Tip Line at 705-675-9171 extension 2320. Members of the public can also provide information anonymously through Sudbury Rainbow Crime Stoppers at 705-222-TIPS (8477) from anywhere.

 

[dotr]

This case is unrelated afaik, just noting this small but unusual detail.
The perp in Renee's murder had a large " diaper pin " in his pocket, previously i had suggested that maybe he was in a marching band and possibly wore a kilt for which he used the pin.
COMPLETE SPECULATION.
Just came across this case involving a woman from Toronto, a sex worker- who moved to Ottawa due to a drug problem.
She was murdered there in 1995, apparently by a man wearing a kilt.
FWIW.
http://ottawasun.com/2013/08/31/aft...cuso/wcm/696919bb-8391-46da-9b81-501ca4b238dc

Carrie Mancuso, a known drug user and prostitute was choked to death in her own bed with a strip of thin leather that had a hand-carved wooden cross attached it.

Investigators told Johnson that Carrie was likely asleep at the time.

Though naked, there was no sign she’d been raped.

It was shortly after 9:30 p.m. Sept. 7, 1995. A john showed up at Carrie’s Lafontaine St. apartment and saw — he would later tell police — a man wearing a kilt leave through Carrie’s window, jumping several feet to the ground below

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/sweeney-murder-dna-1.3250941

"We have a good DNA profile of the suspect," said Toffoli. "And I believe there will be a tip that will lead us to the suspect and we can confirm that the suspect is that person through DNA."

So far, however, in 17 years, there have been no hits.
There is a huge amount of physical evidence: a windbreaker-type jacket made in Korea and sold only in California, a diaper pin in the pocket, and a pair of white work gloves. Police have a partial fingerprint and footprint.

rbbm.

 

[Nina Michigan]

Dilenardi disappeared from the Garden River Reserve. His car was found, but not a trace of the man, even after 20 days of searching. The Garden River Reserve is the closest point between the US and Canadian border along highway 17 from Sault Ste Marie to Sudbury.

I wish I knew how to post a side by side picture of the police drawing and Dilenardi. Perhaps it's all just a coincidence, but imo, they look very much alike.

I confirmed with Renee's sister that Dilenardi was ruled out.

Which is a bummer because IMO he looks like a great suspect!

 

[Nina Michigan]

Renee's sister, Kim gives her first ever interview about the case.

The anniversary of Renee's murder is in January.

 

[dotr]

Renee's sister, Kim gives her first ever interview about the case.

The anniversary of Renee's murder is in January.

Very good podcast, thanks for posting it here!

 

[eriluo]

I remember this case as I was traveling back to Toronto from visiting my parents in Sault Ste. Marie and picked up a Sudbury Star on my way through as this was on the front cover. Being of Finnish origin myself, I always thought the perp looked Finnish. There are many Sudburians who have Finnish roots and Finland would be classified as Northern Europe! JMO...

 

[dotr]

Bumping!

Thanks for this important update!!
http://www.manitoulin.ca/2017/01/23/parabon-snapshot-technology-assist-ongoing-renee-sweeney-homicide-investigation/

 

[dotr]

http://www.canada24news.com/canada/...-of-renee-sweeney-remains-unsolved/56179-news

20 years later, murder of Renee Sweeney remains unsolved

Today marks the 20th anniversary of a brutal murder case that shook the community of Sudbury, Ont.

Det.-Sgt. Robert Weston, of the Greater Sudbury Police Service, says the cold case has remained a puzzle. He has been the lead investigator on the case for the last six years.

"The fact that this has gone unsolved for 20 years is mind-blowing and frustrating at the same time," he says.

On Jan. 23, 1998, Renee Sweeney, 23, was working at an adult video store in Sudbury's south end, when a man entered the store shortly after 11 a.m., according to police.

The man approached the counter and stabbed Sweeney 30 times, stealing $200 from the cash register before he fled.

.

"The more you get involved in a case like this, you almost build a relationship, somewhat, with the victim. At the end of the day, the focus is on Renee," says Weston.
"I still remain confident that the suspect will be identified."

[h=2]Cold case still welcomes public tips[/h]

The announcement of the new image last year sparked new public interest in the case.

Weston says public response to the case in the last 12 months has been overwhelming.

Since the release of the new composite in January 2017, Sudbury police have received 360 tips from the public. Of those tips, about 200 possible suspects have been eliminated through DNA testing or other means.

Officers are still investigating about 150 other tips from that time period.
Weston wants to encourage members of the public to continue providing any information they might have.

Tips can be called in anonymously, but for police to be able to investigate them properly, the tips should have as much information as possible, he said.

 

[north_west]

"A police sketch from Sioux Lookout, in northwestern Ontario, has caught the attention of residents in Sudbury.

The sketch was released earlier this week in connection with an alleged sexual assault from March 2016.

OPP say the victim was a 15-year old girl in Sioux Lookout.

Some Sudbury residents are saying on social media that the man in the sketch bears a resemblance to the image of the suspect in an unsolved homicide from 20-years ago."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/composite-sketch-similarities-1.4567842

 

[dotr]

"A police sketch from Sioux Lookout, in northwestern Ontario, has caught the attention of residents in Sudbury.

The sketch was released earlier this week in connection with an alleged sexual assault from March 2016.

OPP say the victim was a 15-year old girl in Sioux Lookout.

Some Sudbury residents are saying on social media that the man in the sketch bears a resemblance to the image of the suspect in an unsolved homicide from 20-years ago."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/composite-sketch-similarities-1.4567842

Thanks for posting this very interesting link!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/composite-sketch-similarities-1.4567842

The sketch was released earlier this week in connection with an alleged sexual assault from March 2016.

http://www.cjrl.ca/news/620304429/sioux-lookout-opp-investigate-sexual-assault
rbbm.

He's described as Caucasian, in his 40's or 50's, and he wore glasses and had heavy facial stubble.

Police say he was medium height with a bit of a "tummy", and had a higher pitched voice.

The vehicle the man was driving is described as an older model, small four door silver car with an automatic transmission and the gear shifter between the front seats.

 

[Gardener1850]

[h=1]Expanded DNA databank provides another tool that could crack Sweeney case[/h]

Greater Sudbury Police say a law that recently came into effect that expands Canada's national DNA databank provides another tool that could crack the 20-year-old Renee Sweeney murder case.

Lindsey's Law, named after 14-year-old Lindsay Nicholls, who went missing on Vancouver Island in 1993, expands the databank to include DNA from missing persons, collected from personal effects such as toothbrushes.
It will also include DNA profiles from relatives of missing persons who have voluntarily made contributions, as well as from unidentified human remains.
The current DNA databank includes DNA from convicted offenders, as well as DNA collected from crime scenes.

https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/...her-tool-that-could-crack-sweeney-case-868973

 

[dotr]

Expanded DNA databank provides another tool that could crack Sweeney case


https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/...her-tool-that-could-crack-sweeney-case-868973

It is now clear that the composite posted by me up thread no longer applies to R.S. ' murder.imo
From your link.

Many people say the sketch of the suspect in the Sioux Lookout case bore a remarkable resemblance to composite images of the Sweeney suspect.
Buchanan said he's been in touch with the OPP over this case, and the Sioux Lookout suspect has been ruled out in the Sweeney case.

rbbm.

 

[know_what_i'm_sayin']

Has anyone here ever watched the show on TLC called "Long Lost Family"?? Basically adopted people seek their biological parents or vice/versa.... They use Ansestry.com to see if they are related to anyone who already registered. They will find cousin matches and then narrow it down that way, at least having a jumping off point to see which families these people are related to. Why do they not do this in cold cases like this one? Whose to say if they ran his DNA, they may find familial matches and narrow it down?

 

[know_what_i'm_sayin']

Thanks for posting this very interesting link!
Police suspect sketch from Sioux Lookout raises eyebrows in Sudbury | CBC News

Sioux Lookout OPP Investigate Sexual Assault | Kenora - 89.5 The Lake FM
rbbm.

The problem I have with this extreme resemblance is that the suspect hasn't aged. We'd be looking for someone considerably older by now right? I can't believe this case is so cold, so sad. I remember like it was yesterday, Renee was a childhood friend to me and I was living in Sudbury at the time of her death. So hard to understand how this could happen in broad daylight, at a mini-mall and nothing ever came of it.