Renée Sweeney was stabbed 27 times, forensic pathologist testifies

Warning: Some of the content includes graphic descriptions of injuries

The Renée Sweeney murder trial saw some gruesome photographs Thursday as the doctor who performed the autopsy on the 23-year-old back in January 1998 testified.

Many in the Sudbury courtroom were holding their hands over their mouths and wiping away tears with tissues handed out by court staff.

Dr. Kelly Uren went over the 27 stab wounds found on Sweeney's body in great detail.

He told the court there were wounds on her face, shoulders, chest, abdomen and hands, but focused on a cluster of stab wounds on her neck.

Uren said these cuts partially severed Sweeney's carotid artery and her jugular vein, leading her to lose maybe as much as a litre of blood in just a few minutes. He said that's about 10 per cent of all the blood in her body.

"This is the injury leading to death," Uren told the court. 

"You could not tell what colour the T-shirt was."

The court has also heard that Sweeney was wearing a grey shirt that day, along with a black corduroy jacket and blue jeans. Inside her pockets, forensic investigators found $20.05 and a slip of yellow paper with a name and phone number on it.

Uren was asked if he could determine the length of the knife used from the stab wounds and said that was difficult, but that his "best guess" puts it at at least 8.5 cm long. 

The doctor also explained that in January 1998 there were no pathologists in Sudbury doing this type of autopsy, so Sweeney's body was taken to North Bay in a sealed "continuity" container that could only be opened in the presence of police officers.

Steven Wright, now 43, is on trial for second-degree murder, accused of killing Sweeney when he was an 18-year-old high school student. 

His defence lawyer Michael Lacy asked Uren several questions about the process he followed when clipping Sweeney's fingernails in order to avoid contamination.

Uren said this was the only time in his career he'd be asked to collect fingernails, however, on Wednesday, Sudbury police officer Leo Thibault testified that he had clipped the nails. 

Lacy told the court that "memories fail us" when things are not properly documented. 

DNA found on the fingernails is a key piece of evidence in the case, with the Crown saying it is a match for Wright. 

The trial is now adjourned until Monday.