Lawyers for accused Renee Sweeney killer try again to get him released on bail

The lawyers for the man accused of stabbing Renee Sweeney to death in 1998 are making another attempt to get him released on bail.

Steve Wright, who is being held at the Sudbury jail,appeared at a bail review hearing by teleconference on Monday afternoon.

He was originally denied bail after a three day hearing in February 2019.

The bail review hearing will resume on Tuesday afternoon via teleconference.

The arguments made and evidence presented at the hearing arecovered by a court-ordered publication ban.

Wright was charged in December 2018 with stabbing the 23-year-old Sweeney to death at a Paris Street adult video store in January 1998, when Wright was an 18-year-old high school student.

He was originally charged with first-degree murder, but that charge has been downgraded to second-degree murder.

A trial has yet to be scheduled.

But the defence has applied for a change of venue, meaning the trial could be moved outside of Sudbury.

The hearing to consider that motion is scheduled to begin May 11, but that could be postponed, as have many court proceedingsduring the COVID-19 pandemic.