Robert Cantor’s murder - Why was Tony Tung’s conviction overturned?

Robert Cantor, the 59-year-old, was found shot to death and burnt to ashes by Tony Tung in the basement bedroom of his Teaneck residence. Sui Kam Tung, better known as Tony Tung, was the ex-husband of Cantor's newfound love Sophie Menuet.

While Tung's involvement in Cantor's murder landed him in prison for a life plus 10 years sentence in February 2016, his sentence was overturned by an appeal in 2019. Tung was set free and was scheduled for a second trial in 2023. However, he was found guilty on all previous counts and sentenced to life in prison.

The Dateline NBC episode The Room Downstairs navigates Tony Tung's trial and Robert Cantor's murder with an exclusive interview with him as it airs on January 4, 2024, at 10 p.m. EST.

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Why was Tony Tung’s conviction overturned? Details explored

In March 2011, the 52-year-old Manhattan-based computer repair shop owner Tony Tung was alleged to have murdered the Verizon Wireless software engineer Robert Cantor. Tung was sentenced to life in prison and an additional ten years in February 2016. However, he won another chance at his trial as a State Appeals Court overturned his conviction.

Tony Tung had reportedly entered Cantor's Teaneck home on three separate occasions and had allegedly threatened Cantor and his ex-wife Sophie Menuet with danger to their lives as he discovered their affair.

Per court documents, Tung had allegedly shot Cantor in the back of his head with a .380 calibre handgun, doused him in grain alcohol and set him ablaze in the room Menuet and Cantor had consummated their relationship at a time between 10:30 p.m. on March 5, 2011, and 1:00 a.m. on March 6, 2011. While Cantor's body was identified using dental records, the crime scene yielded the shell casing of the bullet.

Sui Kam Tung was identified as the prime suspect in the case that was built using circumstantial evidence due to lack of DNA evidence, a murder weapon, or fingerprints that could link the murder to Tung.

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Tony Tung was first convicted of Robert Cantor's murder on February 26, 2016

Sui Kam “Tony” Tung was arrested and convicted for the love triangle killing of his ex-wife Sophie Menuet's boyfriend, Robert Cantor. According to court documents, the prosecutors claimed that Tung set Cantor's apartment ablaze and fled the scene.

The Bergen County detectives built the case with the information at hand - surveillance footage records and deleted computer evidence. Additionally, Sophie Menuet testified against Tung at his hearing saying that Tung had taken $2,000 out of their savings to purchase a handgun which he had later shown to her mentioning danger to Cantor and her life.

Tung was found guilty on charges of murder, arson, weapons charges, stalking and desecration of a human body and sentenced to life plus 10 years in prison.

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Tung's conviction was overturned by a State Appeals Court on June 28, 2019

According to AP News, a New Jersey appeals court had ordered a new trial for Tony Tung owing to errors that prevented him from receiving a fair trial. While the prosecutors argued that Tung was the only person with a motive to kill Cantor, no DNA, fingerprints or weapons were recovered during the investigation.

The defence team argued that there were no grounds on which the prosecution claimed that Tung had fled the scene and travelled to New Jersey. Moreover, the appeals court brought up Tung's denial of searches of his computer and car and the pursuit of an attorney as constitutional rights of an accused instead of apparent signs of guilt.

Tung's public defender argued that the prosecution had failed to look into other possible suspects in the case.

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Tony Tung was found guilty of all previous charges on November 3, 2023

The second trial that took place in 2023 found Sui Kam Tung guilty of all the previous charges related to Robert Cantor's murder. He was convicted of murder, desecration of human remains, aggravated arson, evidence tampering, hindering apprehension, stalking and weapons offences yet again and sentenced to life in prison.

His ex-wife Sophie Menuet testified against him during his second trial as well wherein she mentioned him erasing his computer hard drive after Cantor's death. According to New Jersey’s Department of Corrections, Tung is presently incarcerated at the New Jersey State Prison. He will not be eligible for parole as part of the No Early Release Act.