Man Found Guilty in 1993 Murder of Woman in Alaska Dorm

At the time of the murder, Steven Downs was a freshman at the school and a resident in the dorm Sergie—who was a former student—was found in.

February 12, 2022

A man has been found guilty in the 1993 rape and murder of Sophie Sergie, a 20-year-old who was found dead in a University of Alaska Fairbanks dorm.

Steven Downs, 47, of Auburn, Maine—who was arrested for the crime back in 2019 through DNA evidence—was found guilty following a two-day jury deliberation in Fairbanks, per CBS News. At the time of the murder, Downs was a freshman at the school and a resident in the dorm Sergie—who was a former student—was found in. The woman was found dead on April 26, 1993 in a shower room, where police say she was sexually assaulted, shot in the back of the head and stabbed numerous times.

Downs was first tied to the murder after the Alaska State Troopers’ Cold Case Unit submitted DNA profile to a company to run analysis in 2018. The technology used helped authorities find California’s Golden State Killer in 2018.

Prosecutors said during the trial that only DNA from Downs was collected at the crime scene, but Downs’ attorney James Howaniec claimed other hairs and fingerprints were also discovered, KTUU-TV reports.

The station shares that Sergie’s brother Alexie heard the Thursday verdict and said he felt a “feeling of relief that they found, the jurors found him guilty.” Down’s sentencing will be taking place in September.

“On special occasions, she’d just burst out crying for a little bit,” Alexie Sergie said of his mother, who died in 2021. “And she’d start a prayer and start praying. … I said to myself, you know, one of these days they’ll find they guy, they will find him. Nobody can hide for so long.”