A timeline of the Renée Sweeney murder case in Sudbury

The most anticipated trial in Sudbury's history gets underway Tuesday.

Steven Wright stands accused of stabbing 23-year-old Renee Sweeney to death in a video store on Paris Street in January 1998.

Wright was an 18-year-old student at Lockerby Composite high school at the time.

He has spent the past four years behind bars awaiting his day in court, which has been delayed several times.

The 43-year-old faces a charge of second-degree murder, which comes with a possible life sentence.

The trial will begin with the choosing of 12 people who will ultimately decide his fate and sit on a jury for what's expected to be a six-week trial.

Jury selection is anticipated to take a couple of days and then the Crown prosecutors will begin presenting their case, finally making public some details of this murder that Sudburians have been waiting 25 years to hear. 

Renée Sweeney murder case timeline

Jan. 27, 1998: 23-year-old Renée Sweeney is stabbed to death while working in the Adults Only Video Store on Paris Street in Sudbury. The killer is seen running from the scene and police find a discarded jacket and gloves in a wooded area that today is the Health Sciences North parking lot. 

Feb. 11, 1998: Sudbury police announce that they have charged 31-year-old John Fetterly with first-degree murder in Sweeney's killing, but rescind the charges and release him the following day stating that the evidence did not hold up. 

Dec. 2, 1999: Hundreds of men have submitted their DNA to Sudbury police, making it the largest collection of DNA for a single police investigation in Canadian history at that time.

Mar. 23, 2000: New Brunswick serial killer Michael Wayne McGray, later convicted in seven murders, is named as a possible suspect in the Sweeney case. He is just one of several possible suspects named by Sudbury police over the course of the investigation. 

Apr. 30, 2003: Sudbury police launch the reneesweeney.com website to help collect tips about the murder.

Feb. 7, 2006: Sweeney's mother Carole Strachan releases a CD of music entitled Remembering Renée Sweeney. She dies in 2016.

Jan. 23, 2017: Sudbury police release a new sketch of the Sweeney murder suspect using DNA technology called "Snapshot."

Dec. 12, 2018: Sudbury police announce that they have arrested Robert Steven Wright and charged him with first-degree murder. He was an 18-year-old high school student when Sweeney was killed and was living in North Bay at the time of his arrest. 

Mar. 27, 2019: A judge denies Wright's request to be released on bail while he awaits trial. 

August 2019: The charge against Wright is downgraded to second-degree murder. 

May 14, 2020: Wright is denied bail for a second time

Oct. 8, 2020: A judge rules that Wright's trial will be held in Sudbury. This follows a change-of-venue motion filed by his lawyers, arguing that years of media coverage would make it difficult to find an impartial jury in the city. 

Oct. 12, 2021: Two weeks before the trial is set to begin, it is delayed yet again. One of the main reasons is a change in Wright's defence team, after the previous lawyers were accused of conflict of interest by the Crown Attorney's office. 

Nov. 2, 2021: Wright is temporarily moved out from Sudbury Jail to a Toronto hospital to be treated for COVID-19.

Jan. 17, 2022: A judge denies Wright's third request to be released on bail while he awaits trial. 

Apr. 26, 2022: The trial, which had been set to begin in September 2022, is delayed yet again until February 2023. 

Dec. 12, 2022: Wright, now 43, marks four years in custody awaiting his day in court.