Accused killer in Renee Sweeney case still behind bars

A panel of judges hearing an appeal on the matter of bail for Steve Wright say they're reserving judgmentto a later date.

Wright has been behind bars since he was arrested in December 2018 in connection with one of Sudbury's most notorious crimes: the killing of Renee Sweeney, who was stabbed 30 times at an Adults Only video store in 1998.

In January, a judge denied Wright bail for the third time, which is the decision Wright's counsel, Toronto lawyer Michael Lacy, is currently appealing. Wright'sprevious bail hearings were inFebruary 2019 and May 2020.

Wright, who was working as a laboratory technician at the North Bay Regional Health Centre, was originally charged with first-degree murder by Sudbury police. That charge was eventually downgraded to second-degree murder. At the time of Sweeney's murder, police said Wright was an 18-year-old student at Lockerby Composite School.

Evidence the court heard during the virtual hearing Thursday is covered by a publication ban and cannot be made public until the matter goes to trial.

The case has already been delayed several times.Wright was hospitalized with COVID-19 in November, and had to be transferred from his prison facility to a hospital in Toronto.

The case was also delayed in October 2021 when Wright's lawyer at the time, Berk Keaney, stepped away from the case citing a conflict of interest.

Wright's trial for second-degree murder is currently scheduled for September 2022.