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

[north_west]

"A man now living in North Bay has been charged in the vicious murder of Renee Sweeney in an adult video store in 1998.

Greater Sudbury Police said officers arrested Robert Steven Wright, 39, on Tuesday. He has been charged with first-degree murder...

...On Jan. 27, 1998, a man attacked Sweeney at the former Adults Only video store on Paris Street. She suffered multiple stab wounds and succumbed to her injuries at the scene.

Over the past two decades, investigators in Sudbury made numerous public appeals, released evidentiary photos and employed innovative investigation techniques as information. More than 2,000 tips were received and more than 1,500 people were eliminated as suspects.

“At the beginning of November, our detectives identified a person of interest and through investigative techniques,” police said in a release, “gathered forensic evidence leading to an arrest and search warrant that were carried out earlier (Tuesday) in North Bay.” "

North Bay man named suspect in 1998 Sudbury murder

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[know_what_i'm_sayin']

Best news our town can hear today.. this has been on our minds for the last 20 years, we never forgot Renee, always hoping her killer would be found. I can't believe it was an 18 year old HS student! Wow, he's been living in North Bay as a lab tech in the ER department, not sure if he's married with a family. Wow.

 

[dotr]

Awesome and surprising news!
North Bay man named suspect in 1998 Sudbury murder

Police supplied photos of Steven Wright who would have been 18 at the time of Renee Sweeney's murder

 

[musicaljoke]

I am so pleased to hear that finally a suspect has been arrested. Renee was a music student at Laurentian Uni while I was there. This has been a long and difficult wait.

Wright was a high school student. Wouldn't the police have checked the local school attendence records? Perhaps they did. And that light-weight, green-blue nylon jacket must have stood out as especially odd in January. I wonder how many people will come out of the woodwork now, saying that they suspected this guy.

 

[musicaljoke]

Steven Wright

This is his fb.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

*

 

[know_what_i'm_sayin']

I am so pleased to hear that finally a suspect has been arrested. Renee was a music student at Laurentian Uni while I was there. This has been a long and difficult wait.

Wright was a high school student. Wouldn't the police have checked the local school attendence records? Perhaps they did. And that light-weight, green-blue nylon jacket must have stood out as especially odd in January. I wonder how many people will come out of the woodwork now, saying that they suspected this guy.

So far people on FB who knew him are all saying he's quiet and the nicest guy.... one person calling him a 'gentle giant'. I can't understand how he could have pulled this off with nobody being the least bit suspicious. I'm wondering if that jacket was stolen and not his usual jacket, otherwise you'd think this mother or father would recognize it? I have a teenager, I'd totally recognize a jacket from my home. And it was a Tuesday, so a school day for him. I wonder if they can go back and check records of attendance... probably not, I doubt that trivial info is saved for decades.

His friends and family must be going crazy at this news, thinking back to that day, and going over the last 20 years they've spent holidaying and socializing with him. He must have been odd in some way right???

 

[Nina Michigan]

I am so pleased about this arrest. Particularly for Kim, I interviewed her when covering Renee's case for the podcast

 

[dotr]

North Bay hospital lab tech charged with 1st-degree murder
"Pedersen gave credit to the Sudbury detectives originally assigned to the investigation, some of whom have retired or moved on. “It is very clear the initial work done on this case provided the service with concrete evidence to move forward.”

He also highlighted the “dedication and unwavering determination” of the detectives currently assigned to the case, as well as the contributions of the Centre for Forensic Science, noting “this is one of the largest forensic cases in Canada.”

He said the brutal slaying rocked the community and nobody in Sudbury forgot about Sweeney or gave up hoping for a resolution, least of all those closest to her.

Pedersen thanked the Sweeney family, and especially Renee’s sister Kim, for “never losing faith in this service and our commitment to solve this case.”

The chief said he had spoken with Kim, who is “overwhelmed with a variety of emotions,” but is also requesting the media respect her privacy for now.

“Kim said today is not about her; it’s about her sister Renee,” he said. “She did ask me to extend her most sincere appreciation to everyone in Greater Sudbury Police, especially the lead investigator Sgt. Bob Weston, for all the work and support over the years.”

 

[musicaljoke]

If he had turned himself in and pleaded guilty, he'd be out by now. Also, Renee's parents would have lived to see justice for their daughter.

The Sudbury radio stations are certainly abuzz with news of the arrest. Everyone is very grateful that the crime has finally been solved.

 

[dotr]

rbbm.
Former girlfriend, classmates shed light on murder suspect's past
"Hospital staff told The Nugget Wright worked regularly in the hospital’s emergency department.

“He was quiet and often kept to himself,” said one employee. “ I didn’t see him smile too often.”

Former classmates with Wright said he played football for Lockerby Composite School all through high school and won the “quietest” award in the Lockerby senior poll in 1998.

“He didn’t really stick out, but we had many mutual friends,” one classmate said. “He was a person I saw around the school, we just ran in different circles.”

A woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she met Wright through a popular dating website – Plenty of Fish.

“We only went out a few times, but he was so sweet and kind,” she said.

According to Wright’s dating profile he is a non-smoker, 6’1 who is a free thinker and wants children someday."

 

[dotr]

1. Wanted by the RCMP: Murder Suspect | Royal Canadian Mounted Police
   

Accused Sweeney killer makes first court appearance - Sudbury.com

"The man Greater Sudbury Police believe brutally murdered Renee Sweeney 20 years ago appeared in bail court in Sudbury Wednesday morning."

"In court Wednesday was Marc Taillefer, who was Sweeney's music teacher when she was a student at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School.

He wanted to be there to remember his former student.

“She had, like, a thousand friends,” Taillefer said. “She was nice to everybody, everybody loved her.”

He remembers someone stealing his trombone and Sweeney generously lending him one of hers.

“She was just a great kid, you know,” he said. “She'd take her lunches in the music room and had a little group of friends and they'd all sit and talk and chat and come to rehearsal – she never missed a rehearsal.”

 

[know_what_i'm_sayin']

I am so pleased about this arrest. Particularly for Kim, I interviewed her when covering Renee's case for the podcast

I searched itunes, I don't see this particular episode listed although I did find Already Gone, it appears as tho this episode is missing.... has it been taken down?

 

[Nina Michigan]

I searched itunes, I don't see this particular episode listed although I did find Already Gone, it appears as tho this episode is missing.... has it been taken down?

78 The murder of Renee Sweeney | Already Gone Podcast – True Crime you can listen from my website, I've been having trouble as I transition between hosting services. Sorry about that!

 

[JuneBug67]

Sudbury is a small city and that so often leads to unexpected connections. My mom has a long-time friend who is in a local group with Wright's mother. My mom's friend says she is the nicest, kindest, warmest person and that she was so proud of her son and spoke of him often - his job, his family etc. Ugh. I can imagine the utter devastation and shock to have your world rocked like this. Crimes like this create so many victims.

 

[JuneBug67]

I find the photo that the police released in his graduation gown strikingly similar to the sketch posted above. There is a unique curve to his mouth that seems captured in both the sketch and the the photo.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

Top of thread: Canada - Renee Sweeney, 23, Sudbury, Ont, 27 Jan 1998

Now the term "arrest" is missing ........

 

[know_what_i'm_sayin']

Sudbury is a small city and that so often leads to unexpected connections. My mom has a long-time friend who is in a local group with Wright's mother. My mom's friend says she is the nicest, kindest, warmest person and that she was so proud of her son and spoke of him often - his job, his family etc. Ugh. I can imagine the utter devastation and shock to have your world rocked like this. Crimes like this create so many victims.

Our community is so overwhelmed with the recent arrest news. I keep thinking about his family, they must be devastated. To think he's been running around in sheeps clothing all this time. I'm anxious to hear if he had a link to Renée or if it was a random act of violence. Stabbing someone 30 times seems personal to me. My head needs to understand why. I hope we and her family get that answer.

 

[musicaljoke]

I find the photo that the police released in his graduation gown strikingly similar to the sketch posted above. There is a unique curve to his mouth that seems captured in both the sketch and the the photo.

Yes, I am impressed by the accuracy of the original drawing. The two witnesses were very alert and attentive to detail, considering the trauma of that brief encounter.

 

[know_what_i'm_sayin']

I find the photo that the police released in his graduation gown strikingly similar to the sketch posted above. There is a unique curve to his mouth that seems captured in both the sketch and the the photo.

There is def a similarity. Take a look at these comparisons.