Renee Sweeney murder trial delayed again — now set for Sudbury court in February

One of the most anticipated murder trials in Sudbury's history has been delayed again.

The man accused of stabbing Renee Sweeney to death in a Paris Street store in 1998 is now set to have his day in court in February.

That means Steve Wright, now 42, will have been in jail awaiting trial for more than four years by the time his case is heard.

He was arrested in December 2018 and charged with a murder he is alleged to have committed when he was an 18-year-old high school student.

The judge and lawyers decided Tuesday the trial will now start on Feb. 21, just a couple of weeks after the 25th anniversary of Sweeney's murder.

The trial has been delayed several times. It was originally scheduled for May 2021.

It was then moved to October 2021, and just a few weeks before it was scheduled to start, was put off again until September 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the wheels of justice in this case, but it has also been delayed by an attempt to get the trial moved outside Sudbury.

There were accusations Wright's former defence lawyer, Berk Keaney, had a conflict of interest, and in recent months, the case was transferred a new defence counsel, Michael Lacy.