Northfield teen sentenced to 60 years for 2022 triple slaying

CONCORD — A 19-year-old from Northfield was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Friday in Merrimack Superior Court, for the 2022 slaying of his sister-in-law and two nephews, one of whom was 18 days shy of his second birthday, the other wearing a dinosaur costume at the time of their deaths.

In a case that rattled the Lakes Region, Eric Sweeney, who was 16 at the time of the four-minute altercation on Aug. 3, 2022, was charged three times with reckless second-degree murder, and once with falsifying evidence. In 2022, Sweeney stole a gun from a safe located under his brother’s bed, and subsequently used it to shoot his family members at close range, including Kassandra Sweeney, 25, Mason, 4, and Ben, 1.

The Hon. Judge John C. Kissinger Jr. opted for a sentence to give Sweeney a “narrow” opportunity to see life on the other side of bars after decades of incarceration.

"Two things are very clear in this case: Eric Sweeney, the defendant, had a horrific childhood. Second, the murders of Kassandra, Ben and Mason were unimaginably brutal and heinous,” said Kissinger around 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. “As I have thought about this, I have felt and come to the determination that a sentence short of life [is necessary], providing the defendant a very tight, but narrow, path. It reflects the magnitude and nature of his crime, but provides a path for the defendant, a different path, for rehabilitation.”

The sentence comes after Sweeney pleaded guilty to his charges on Aug. 15, in front of  three second-degree murder charges and one charge of falsifying evidence in front of Kissinger.

In 2019, Kassandra and Sean Sweeney took full guardianship of Eric Sweeney, 10 years Sean’s junior, which made for a tense and tumultuous living environment in Northfield. Court documents highlight two incidents where Eric ran away.

As part of the conditions of his sentencing, Sweeney cannot profit from his role in the killings, and he must pay $29,290.88 in restitution. Sweeney also can't have contact with any member of the Southwick-Sweeney family, including his older brother Sean, but can see his mother.

“He has to grapple with these consequences forever. He made the decision to shoot six times. He showed no fondness, no kindness, no love. He showed brutality,” said Bethany Durand, assistant attorney general for the State of New Hampshire, during the hearing. “He took the lives of two children who had barely begun to live. The defendant killed three people — and destroyed the lives of so many more.”

Sweeney has the opportunity to reduce his sentence by 18 years if he achieves a variety of milestones, including obtaining his high school diploma, completing a mental health treatment program, good behavior while incarcerated and completion of a vocational program.

His defense team — public defenders Lauren Prusiner and Morgan Taggart-Hampton — painted a picture of a lifetime of neglect before his brother and sister-in-law became his legal guardians in June 2019. For a significant time living under his mother’s care, Sweeney experienced poverty, sexual abuse and hunger.

Kari Oyen, program director and associate director of the School of Psychology at the University of South Dakota, testified as an expert for the defense to talk about the effects of trauma on the brain, and how its long-term effects can make emotional regulation difficult.

“When it comes to trauma on brain development, there’s a few things that can happen,” Oyen said. “It puts your brain in a constant state of hyper arousal.”

She spoke of adverse childhood experiences, and how much emphasis is put on the data gleaned from such a screening. According to the defense sentencing memorandum, available at courts.nh.gov, “At age 4, he was sexually abused by one of [redacted] boyfriends. At 6, he was begging for food on the street.”

Sweeney’s legal team believes his childhood trauma completely affected his persona today. But the state argued the opposite in direct examination. How could he harm the very family that stepped in to help him?

“On Aug. 3, 2022, this defendant, Eric Sweeney, committed a mass shooting. Now he’s pled guilty to killing those victims,” said Durand.

Eleven close friends and family members read victim impact statements, all sharing similar sentiments about how much life had changed since the triple homicide.

“I am so mad that I don’t get to see her and spend more time with her in this world,” said Nicole Goyette, Kassandra’s godmother, who was the first to share a tearful statement. “I miss my three angels more than words can define.”

For Chantelle Labrie, Kassandra's aunt, she reminisced on times spent watching Mason and Ben play together, or watching Kassandra play softball.

“If there’s any greater pain than losing someone to homicide, then I can’t imagine what that is,” said Labrie. “No sentence that Eric serves will be enough. We’ll always be left with three holes that can't be filled.”

Finally, Kassandra’s sister, Katrina Turnbull, read her statement.

“You made me not trust the world. You made me lose my best friends. You made everyday hard because there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think of them and what you did to them in their home,” she read to Courtroom 1. “I couldn’t protect my baby sister from you. There’s not a punishment significant enough for what you did.”