Naman Shrestha
In ID’s ‘Death in the Dorm Room,’ the primary focus is on the brutal murder of a 20-year-old college student named Sophie Sergie in the spring of 1993. The shocking crime instilled fear not only in the minds of the students in the building where her remains were found, but also across the entire community. Despite the best attempts of investigators, they were unable to get to the bottom of the case for several decades. Thanks to advanced DNA technology, the perpetrator behind the killing was caught and brought to justice.
Sophie Sergie Was Found Murdered in Her Friend’s Dormitory Building
Born in June 1972 in Pitkas Point, Alaska, to Elena, Sophie Sergie exhibited a motherly nature, allowing her to take care of her younger brother, Stephen, while helping out her mother run the household. Given her chirpy personality, she knew how to light up even the dullest of rooms. She was also described as a compassionate and kind-hearted individual with big dreams for her future. When she fell short of realizing her dream of joining the US Navy and serving her nation, she shifted her focus to becoming a marine biologist. Through her sheer determination, she managed to earn a full scholarship to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) in the early 1990s. After completing two years at the University, she decided to take a semester off to take care of her ailing mother in the fall of 1992.
During her mother’s jaw surgery in Fairbanks, she stayed with one of her friends, Shirley Wasuli, at her student residence in Bartlett Hall. Unfortunately, before she could return to college, fate intervened in the spring of 1993. In the early hours of April 26, 1993, Sophie reportedly headed out of Shirley’s room to have a cigarette, and that was the last time anybody had seen her until a janitor found her dead in a bathtub on the second-floor bathroom of the building that same afternoon. Immediately, the authorities were informed about the gruesome murder. When the detectives arrived and inspected the crime scene, they figured that 20-year-old Sophie Sergie had been sexually assaulted before being stabbed multiple times and shot in the back of the head at close range. The investigators collected all possible pieces of evidence from the crime scene and launched a homicide investigation.
Sophie Sergie’s Killer Was Apprehended Decades Later With the Help of New DNA Technology
Despite the presence of biological evidence at the crime scene, the detectives were led to dead ends due to a lack of DNA technology. Despite developing a DNA profile of the killer and comparing it with the DNA of potential suspects, the investigation did not lead them anywhere. Eventually, the case went cold. When the DNA sample collected from Sophie Sergie’s remains was submitted for genetic genealogy analysis in 2018, the investigators finally got a new break in the case after nearly three decades. The analysis pointed them in the direction of a man named Steven Downs, who was working as a nurse in Auburn, Maine.
When the investigators dug deeper into the suspect’s past, they learned that he was also a student of UAF at the time of the murder and had been living one floor above the dorm room where Sergie was found dead. When Steven was brought in for questioning in 2019, he denied having met or known Sophie. The accused also denied keeping a gun in his room and claimed that he was with his girlfriend at the time of the murder. However, since the DNA evidence against him was incriminating, he was taken into custody and charged with murder on February 15, 2019. The 44-year-old nurse was then extradited from Maine to Alaska.
Steven Downs is Serving His Sentence at an Alaska Prison Facility
A few years later, on January 12, 2022, the trial of Steven Downs for the killing of Sophie Sergie in 1993 commenced. While the prosecution presented the DNA evidence against the defendant, the defense argued that the crime scene also contained hair strands and fingerprints of various other individuals. The jurors also got to listen to a recording of Steven’s interrogation with the investigators. The defense also argued that the .22-caliber rifle found inside his house in Maine was not the murder weapon used to kill Sergie. After hearing both sides of the coin, the jury deliberated for a couple of days before reaching the final verdict.
Finally, on February 10, 2022, Steven Downs was convicted of the sexual assault and murder of Sophie Sergie in her University dormitory in April 1993. Several months later, on September 26, he was sentenced to 67 years for the murder conviction, plus eight years for the sexual assault conviction, adding up to a total of 75 years. He would be eligible to ask for discretionary parole after serving 25 years. On top of his sentence, he was also registered as a sex offender for life. Post-sentencing, Steven appealed his conviction and sentencing, challenging the results of the DNA tests, in May 2024. Steven Downs is currently incarcerated at Palmer Correctional Center in Palmer, Alaska, with his release date scheduled for February 2069.
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