Dateline NBC plans to re-examine the case of Robert Cantor’s brutal murder that happened in March 2011. The upcoming episode titled ‘The Room Downstairs‘ will dive deeper into the case and showcase how a Manhattan resident named Sui Kam “Tony” Tung became the prime suspect in the case. The episode will air on the network on Thursday, January 4, at 10 p.m. ET.
In March 2011, Tony Tung entered Robert Cantor’s house at gunpoint. According to reports, Tung found out that his estranged wife, Sophie Menuet, was having an affair with Cantor after installing spyware on her computer. Subsequently, Tung took Menuet and her lover into the basement bedroom and shot Cantor in the head. The prime suspect was convicted of killing his estranged wife’s lover and put on trial. After weeks of arguments, the trial came to an end with a guilty verdict.
In February 2016, the court sentenced Tony Tung to life plus 10 years. However, in 2019, Associated Press reported that an appeals court ordered a new trial and overturned Tung’s conviction. The jury once again found Tung guilty of killing Cantor and sentenced him to life in 2023. According to the New Jersey Department of Corrections, Tony Tung is currently serving his sentence at the New Jersey State Prison.
Dateline NBC: What did Tony Tung do?
Tony Tung got to know about his estranged wife’s affair after he installed spyware on her computer. Subsequently, he got to know about all the emails that were exchanged between Sophie Menuet and Robert Cantor. As per the Associated Press, Tung reached Cantor’s home and marched the aforementioned duo into the basement bedroom. The outlet also reported that Menuet told Tung that she began her relationship with Cantor in that very bedroom.
Tung murdered Cantor by shooting him in the head before setting his body ablaze. Although the authorities couldn’t find any DNA, fingerprints, or weapons, prosecutors kept on arguing that only Tung had the motive to kill Cantor. After two trials, the court finally found Tony Tung guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
