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Concord, NH – Prosecutors in New Hampshire are set to argue before a judge today that a teenager who admitted to the 2022 killings of his sister-in-law and her two young sons should spend nearly a century in prison.
Eric Sweeney, now 19, was 16 years old when he fatally shot 25-year-old Kassandra Sweeney and her sons, 4-year-old Benjamin and 23-month-old Mason, at their Concord home. Sweeney pleaded guilty to lesser second-degree murder charges in August, downgrading from the original first-degree murder charges.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors are seeking consecutive sentences: 35 years to life for Kassandra Sweeney’s death and 40 years to life for each of her sons’ deaths. The proposal includes a provision for up to 18 years to be suspended if Sweeney meets specific goals related to education, mental health treatment, and good behavior.
Assistant Attorney General Bethany Durand underscored the severity of the crimes in her sentencing memo, stating, “Benjamin and Mason embody the reason why crimes against children deserve the harshest of penal sanctions.” She continued, “They did absolutely nothing wrong, they were innocent and utterly blameless for what the defendant did. Their murders deserve separate, consecutive sentences.”
However, Sweeney’s defense team is contending that a life sentence without parole would be a cruel and unusual punishment, violating the state constitution due to the severe trauma he endured during his childhood. Defense attorneys highlighted Sweeney’s unstable upbringing, characterized by a lack of consistent caregivers, exposure to drugs and violence, and instances where he was seen at just six years old, with shoes falling apart, asking strangers for food. They specifically cited his mother, who “dragged him through drug dens and a succession of abusive father figures,” as contributing to his “immeasurable trauma.”
“We are asking the court to grant Eric some measure of mercy,” wrote attorneys Lauren Prusiner and Morgan Taggart-Hampton in a recently released sentencing memorandum. They emphasized that Sweeney loved his victims and will “grapple with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his days.”
Court documents indicate that Sweeney had been living with his brother Sean and Kassandra for approximately three years, with the couple acting as his guardians. Tensions had escalated between the brothers, leading Sean to install a lock on his master bedroom door. Sean and Kassandra had reportedly begun steps to have Eric removed from their home.
On August 3, 2022, Eric allegedly “snapped.” He accessed one of Sean’s firearms, a .40 Taurus handgun, from a locked safe.
He then reportedly shot his nephews and sister-in-law in the kitchen. Kassandra was struck once in her right eyebrow, and both boys were shot in the crown of their heads.
While not offering a specific motive for the killings, his defense lawyers noted that “his depression deepened. He knew he was on the brink of losing the safest, most loving home he had ever known.”
Moments before the tragedy, Kassandra, a nursing assistant who worked nights to care for her children during the day, had prepared snacks for her sons and was filming them playing and laughing to send to her husband.
Sean, an oil delivery truck driver, was on his route when Eric called him from Kassandra’s iPhone, falsely claiming “someone broke in and killed them all.” Shortly after police arrived at the scene, Sean pulled up, followed by Eric, who was driving Kassandra’s silver Ford F-150.
During an interview with investigators, Eric initially claimed he was in the basement when he heard something break, followed by a “deep, male voice yelling and multiple ‘pops.’” He told police he crept upstairs and “stepped over Kassandra and Mason’s bodies” to exit the house.
Despite tree workers being at the end of the driveway, he did not ask them for help. According to Merrimack Superior Court filings, he allegedly threw the murder weapon from his vehicle window on I-93 before returning to the home.