NH Man Sentenced to Life for 2022 Murder of Sister-in-Law, Nephews

Eric Sweeney, now 19, was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison for the 2022 killings of his sister-in-law Kassandra Sweeney and her two young sons in Northfield, New Hampshire. At the time of the murders, he was 16 and living under the guardianship of his older brother and sister-in-law. Sweeney pleaded guilty to lesser second-degree murder charges and a charge of falsifying physical evidence, with prosecutors seeking consecutive sentences totaling more than 95 years, while the defense requested concurrent sentences of 40 years to life. The defense highlighted Sweeney's troubled childhood and mental health struggles, suggesting he may have intended self-harm and panicked, but the judge balanced these factors with the severity of the crimes. Victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing underscored the profound trauma caused by the killings, which involved single gunshot wounds to each victim. The judge allowed up to six years of the sentence to be suspended, making Sweeney eligible for parole at age 68, reflecting an attempt to reconcile the defendant's traumatic background with the gravity of his actions.