New Hampshire man accused of fatally shooting his sister-in-law and nephews to plead guilty

(AP) CONCORD, N.H. A guy from New Hampshire is scheduled to enter a guilty plea to second-degree murder charges on Friday. He is accused of killing his sister-in-law and two little nephews when he was sixteen.

Prosecutors claim that in August 2022, Eric Sweeney, now 19 years old, shot and killed Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her sons, 1-year-old Mason and 4-year-old Benjamin, while they were staying in Northfield with his older brother’s family.

He was set to stand trial for first-degree murder next month, but at a hearing in Merrimack County Superior Court, he would enter a guilty plea to the lesser charges. Sweeney, whose attorneys had contemplated bringing up the defense of insanity, could be sentenced to as long as life in prison.

Prosecutors claim that as Sweeney’s growing behavioral problems started to cause problems in the home, the teen’s guardians were his elder brother, Sean, and his wife. According to court documents, the couple called the police to speak with Sweeney because he was lying to them and breaking home rules.

He left the pair a message about two months prior to the deadly killings, which said, in part, “I do not belong in this family. All I do is steal, lie, and be irresponsible.” It ended with the words “I love you, big bro and sis.”

According to court documents, Sweeney told police when he was arrested that he had been in his basement room when he heard a man with a deep voice shouting and several pops coming from upstairs. He claimed that after finding his sister-in-law and nephews bleeding on the floor after going upstairs, he took Kassandra’s keys and cellphone and left. After that, he contacted his brother, who dialed 911.

Video clips that Kassandra Sweeney took with her phone on the morning of the shooting, including one taken just ten minutes before Eric Sweeney left the house, were to be shown to jurors by the prosecution.

Prosecutors stated in a court statement last month that the victims in all three films show no evidence of distress or any audible or visual indicators that an unknown or unwanted third party was in the house with them.