A teenager from New Hampshire has been sentenced to 60 years to life in prison for the murder of his sister-in-law and her young children, following a plea for leniency based on his troubled upbringing.
Eric Sweeney, just 19 years old, received his sentence on Friday in a Concord courthouse after admitting guilt for the slayings of 25-year-old Kassandra Sweeney and her two sons — Benjamin, aged 4, and Mason, only 23 months — at their home in Northfield back in 2022.
At the time of the violent incident, Sweeney was 16 and living under the guardianship of his brother Sean and Kassandra when he entered their kitchen armed with a handgun and tragically took their lives.
Little Benjamin was shot in the head while wearing a dinosaur costume—a heartbreaking detail, especially since Kassandra had been recording videos just moments earlier, expressing love between her sons and sending the clips to her husband with a text that read, “I hope they make you laugh.”
Kassandra worked as a nursing assistant, often taking night shifts to support her children. Following the murders, Sweeney fled and called his brother, claiming that an intruder was responsible for the attack.
While no clear motive for the horrific crime emerged, Sweeney had been exhibiting signs of severe depression leading up to the killings, prompting his brother and Kassandra to fear for their family’s safety and seek his removal from their guardianship.
During sentencing, Sweeney’s legal team argued that he had no recollection of the incident and attributed his actions to a “broken brain,” a psychological condition developed in response to extensive childhood trauma.
His childhood was marred by hardship, having been raised by a mother who took him through drug-infested environments and exposed him to a succession of abusive figures, driving him to a point of hunger on the streets by the age of 6.
“He wore shoes that were falling apart, concerned that any toys from Christmas would be sold for drugs,” the defense vocalized in court.
Defense attorney Lauren Prusiner requested compassion from the court, suggesting that Sweeney may have considered suicide before panicking and turning the weapon on his family.
Several family members and friends gave statements about the victims, some suggesting that Sweeney should have chosen self-harm instead of taking innocent lives.
Kassandra’s mother-in-law, Peg Sweeney, expressed her fury, stating, “Rot in hell,” and lamented that she previously viewed herself as a grandmother to the victims, now completely severing that connection.
Some attendees expressed a desire for Sweeney to face violence from other inmates during his prison sentence.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 97 years, but Judge John Kissinger delivered a term meant to reflect the gravity of Sweeney’s actions alongside the tragic context of his upbringing.
Sweeney will have the opportunity for parole when he turns 68, around the year 2075. He was originally charged with first-degree murder before negotiating down to second-degree.
The judge emphasized that the sentence “captures both the severity of his crimes and the potential for a challenging path to rehabilitation and redemption,” according to WMUR.
With Post wires
