A New Hampshire teenager, 19-year-old Eric Sweeney, killed his brother’s family when he was 16, years after he was welcomed at their home. He will now spend decades, potentially the rest of his life, behind bars.
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As reported by PEOPLE, Sweeney was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison on Friday, October 3. He previously pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder in a plea agreement that saw his original first-degree charges reduced.
Reportedly, the defense had requested a 40-year to life in prison sentence, while prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Eric Sweeney to a minimum of 97 years. The 19-year-old, according to WBZ News, will be 68 years old when he becomes eligible for parole.
The violent incident occurred back on August 3, 2022. Years after Sean Sweeney, Eric’s brother, took him and agreed to be his legal guardian, Eric shot dead 25-year-old Kassandra Sweeney, 4-year-old Benjamin, and 23-month-old Mason.
Sean called the police shortly after the shooting to report it. He, who was not at home at the time, had received a call from Eric, who told him that someone had broken into his house and shot his family.
Tragically, minutes before their deaths, Kassandra had sent a video to Eric through Snapchat showing their boys alongside a message that read, “I hope they make you laugh.”
Brother Charged
The then-16-year-old Eric Sweeney told the police that, while at home, he heard someone break into the house. Then, a “deep, male voice” yelled inside, followed by “pops.” However, surveillance footage showed that no one had entered the house.
Taking Kassandra’s phone and without checking on the victims, Eric claimed he left the home and drove off. However, the police later found that one of Sean’s firearms had gone missing. Then, the weapon was found discarded along the route Eric took while fleeing the scene with Kassandra’s phone.
Eric Sweeney was arrested and charged shortly after. He was indicted on October 4, 2024, over a month after he killed Sean’s family.
Sean Sweeney, who didn’t attend Eric’s sentencing hearing, told the police at the time that he and Kassandra wanted Eric out of their house. This was due to his worsening behavior toward them. It got so bad that Sean had to place a lock on their master bedroom to prevent Eric from entering.
Present in the courtroom, however, were various members of the Sweeney family, who delivered powerful victim impact statements.
“Remember who they were,” Kassandra’s cousin, Alizabeth Dawson, said in court, as per WBZ News. “Their lives mattered. Their futures mattered. But the loss suffered is immeasurable, and the hole their loss has left in our family can never be filled.”
Peg Sweeney, Eric’s step-grandmother, told Eric to “rot in hell,” telling him to erase “Gram” from his vocabulary.”
“You deserve to stay in prison until the day you die,” Peg added, as per the New Hampshire Union Leader. “I always told you that hate was a strong word, but Eric, with what you did and took from me and my family, the word hate is not strong enough. I hate you to the innermost being.”