Northfield Teen To Plead Guilty To Charges In Triple Murder Case From 2022: Follow-Up

CONCORD, NH — Nearly three years after being accused of killing his sister-in-law and two nephews, a teen from Northfield has filed paperwork in Merrimack County Superior Court, agreeing to change his plea to guilty.

Morgan Taggart-Hampton, a public defender representing Eric Sweeney, 19, filed paperwork on his behalf Tuesday, agreeing to a naked plea in the case involving the murders of Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and nephews, Benjamin Sweeney, 4, and Mason Sweeney, 23 months, on Aug. 3, 2022. He was charged with three first-degree and three second-degree murder counts as well as a falsifying physical evidence charge, hiding the .40 caliber Taurus handgun, which was the murder weapon, according to an indictment, to impede an investigation.

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A naked plea in most states is defined by a plea made without an agreed-upon deal in place.

Sweeney was initially arrested about a week after the shooting and held without bail. Because he was a juvenile, no information was released to the public. The murder charges were filed against Sweeney in June 2023 in Merrimack County Superior Court. Sweeney was indicted on the three first-degree murder charges and evidence charge in September 2023.

Below is a video from a press conference from August 2022:

During the past 18 months, both Taggart-Hampton, along with Lauren Prusiner for the defense, and Bethany Jean Durand and Peter Hinckley for the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, have been trading motions on evidence, suppression of a search warrant, reconsiderations, and other motions, all of which have been under seal. The case was scheduled to go to trial in December 2024, but it was canceled after an extension request was made. After several months, the second-degree murder counts were brought before a grand jury again and Sweeney was indicted on those charges.

A final pretrial hearing was slated for next week, with jury selection to begin in early September. A trial was scheduled to start on Sept. 15.

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