It has been 12 years since Bill Strachan turned on his television to watch the news and found out a murder had taken place at a store on Paris Street. As he watched, the media zoomed in to the Adults Only Video store, and he saw his step-daughter’s car parked outside.
“I knew it was Renée then,” he said.
Jan. 27, 2010, marks the 12th year since Renée Sweeney was murdered while she worked a day shift at the Adults Only Video store. She was 23, and had been working there for three years.
“We felt she was quite safe, because she always said that she could look after herself,” Strachan said.
Sgt. David Toffoli, of the Greater Sudbury Police Service, is the lead investigator on the Sweeney murder. He has worked the case for six years, and 12 years ago helped his fellow officers search the South End for the murderer.
Renée Sweeney, a few weeks before her death. File photo.
“All it takes is that one tip,” Toffoli said. “One tip could lead us directly to the killer. The person may think it’s an insignificant tip, but for us, it may be the tip that leads us to (the murderer).”
Over the years, Greater Sudbury Police have used DNA and fingerprint evidence to eliminate more than 1,600 people, making it Canada’s largest DNA-elimination case, Toffoli said.
He explained that some tips the police receive are still for men in their early 20s, which means they would have been anywhere from eight to 12 years old at the time of the murder.
“(People need) to realize the composite that is out there right now is 12 years old. The suspect will not look like these composites.”
Several of these tips indicate that the killer may have had assistance prior to or immediately after the crime.
“There’s possibly another person involved that may have assisted with transporting the (killer) away from the scene, or assisted in the following days,” Toffoli explained.
“(They hid) him in their house, or assisted him in leaving town.”
According to the police, after leaving the store, the killer fled behind the old Children’s Aid Society building, through the backyards of residences on Walford Road, and then crossed Walford Road to go to the parking lot of Laurentian hospital, which was under construction at the time. There, he hid his jacket and a pair of gloves under some rocks, and fled to Regent Street. Police dogs lost his trail at this point.
Toffoli said he doesn’t believe the killer could have escaped town without someone noticing.
“Renée fought him, and fought him hard,” Toffoli said, explaining that DNA under the young woman’s fingernails indicated she had scratched the killer several times. As the killer was fully clothed, except for his face and neck, the scratches would have likely been visible.
I’ve never seen anything like it in 22 years, ever.
Sgt. David Toffoli,
Greater Sudbury Police Service
“Renée had received a number of hang-up phone calls (at home) during the two weeks prior to her murder,” Toffoli said. “She had a different behaviour. She used to park her car at work on the opposite side of the parking lot, but it was a dark area of the parking lot. In the week prior to the murder, she changed the location of her parking, and she parked directly in front of the store, which she had never done before.
“We’re assuming she did this because she was scared of someone, or something happening to her. We’ve never found out what she was scared of. She never told her family, her friends, or her co-workers.”
The crime, whether it was supposed to be a robbery or a murder, was premeditated, Toffoli said. “He entered the store with gloves, a knife, and very light clothing for the cold temperature that was outside,” the sergeant explained.
“Anyone entering (a store) with gloves and a knife (is) entering to commit some offence, whether it’s robbery or sexual assault we don’t really know. Two hundred dollars was taken from the till, and possibly some magazines and sexual toys may have been taken from the store. We don’t know because of the poor inventory (maintained by the store).”
The stab wounds “were extremely violent,” Toffoli said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in 22 years, ever.”
Toffoli said he believes the killer is still alive, and someday, he will be caught. “I’ve been told by a scientist down at the Centre of Forensic Science that DNA is getting to the point where they’ll be able to look at one DNA sample and at another DNA sample and be able to say that the two people are related by their DNA.”
He said if the DNA of the suspect can be matched to a relative in the databank, it would narrow the field significantly.
For Sweeney’s family, an arrest can’t come soon enough. Carole, Renée’s mother, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1967. The day her daughter was killed was the last day she walked. Her health has degenerated so severely that she now receives 24-hour care at St. Joseph’s Villa.
“Things (in the last 12 years) have gone downhill,” Strachan said. “I have gone from having a wife and two daughters at home, and now I live all alone.
“We miss Renée greatly. We don’t know if she’d have gotten married ... there is always an empty chair at the table for her.”
Profile of a suspected killer
After 12 years, what may have changed? The suspect may have longer hair, may have no hair, or may have grown facial hair. He may have gained weight.
Greater Sudbury Police Sgt. David Toffoli said the glasses bother him. Over the years, the suspect may now wear contacts or have had surgery, or may only wear the glasses for reading.
Murder suspect
After the murder, Sgt. Jim Van Allen from the Ontario Provincial Police provided a profile of the suspect.
He concluded the suspect, at the time of the murder, was between the ages of 25-30 (maturity, not physical age), likely lives alone or is financially dependent on family and friends, is likely a city resident and employed in a minimum wage job or unemployed.
He noted the killer could be described as a loner, and would be known for having mood swings or violent and inappropriate outbursts. He is a regular drinker. The killer took pride in his appearance, and would appear neat, orderly, well groomed and casually dressed. He also enjoyed solitary interests, like skiing, hunting, and hiking.
