Defence takes aim at 'mistakes' made by Sudbury police in Sweeney investigation

After taking photos of pools of blood on the floor of the Adults Only Video store, including around the body of a 23-year-old woman, Rick Waugh noticed that the cash tray was "cocked a little out of position."

The Sudbury police officer would discover a fingerprint on that cash tray, which would become a key piece of evidence in theReneSweeney murder investigation.

Waugh testified Tuesday at the second-degree murder trial of Steven Wright, 43, who is accused of stabbing Sweeney to death on Jan. 27, 1998.

Waugh went slowly through all of the photos he took in the video store, including one of a blood-soaked mouse pad next to a phone, anda watch with a leather strapfound in a pool of blood on the floor.

The jury was also shown a blurry photo of red and grey swirls which Waugh said was a picture of the fingerprint from the cash tray.

Waugh said he took great care in taking those pictures, so the print could be sent to the RCMP to see if it belonged to a known offender, but it did not.

On Feb. 10, 1998, some two weeks after the murder, that print was compared to prints taken from 31-year-old John Fetterlywho had been arrested overnight.

Waugh had looked at the printand did not think it was a match andwroteFetterly's namein a book of suspects he wasrulingout for the murder.

But then he heard that other Sudbury police officers had deemed the printa match and Fetterly was arrested for Sweeney's murder.

"First of all, I thought it was a joke," he told the court.

"I was shocked. I was upset. I was surprised."

Waugh said he looked and looked at the print and "convinced" himself it was a match for Fetterly's left thumb, but still had doubts.

The court heard that day was "chaotic" at the Sudbury police station and eventually, it was determined that the print was not a match and Fetterly was released the day after his arrest.

Waugh testified that he was down in the small Bruce County town of Mildmaysearching an apartment that Fetterly once lived in when he found out that the murder charge was going to be dropped.

He also told the court that the false identification of the fingerprint sawhim removed from the Sweeney investigation.

On cross-examination from the defence, Waugh was questioned about the process he followed to keep evidence from being contaminated, including how often he changed his gloves at the crime scene.

He told the court that he didn't wear protective coverallsover his police uniform when searchingthe video store because they were not available that day.

Waugh also told the court that he did not swab or check for prints on the soap dispenser in the washroom where the killer is believed to have cleaned up.

Defence lawyer Michael Lacy questioned why Sweeney's hands were not covered with paper bags.

DNA found under Sweeney's fingernails is a key piece of evidence and said by the Crown to be a match for Steven Wright.

But Lacy pointed out that an expert at the Centre for Forensic Science said the fingernails were so covered with blood it"made meaningful analysis difficult."

Lacy also questioned Waugh about "falsifying" his notes to incorrectly show how the decision aboutthe Fetterly fingerprint match was made.

Lacy suggested this was symptom of the "pressure" onpolice investigators in a case likethis,while making it clear the the retired officer is "not on trial."

"You're not perfect and you made mistakes, correct?" Lacy asked.

"Correct," Waugh answered.

Waugh will still be on the stand when the trial resumes on Wednesday morning.