A jury in Alaska discovered a person responsible on Thursday of the rape and homicide of a lady at a college dormitory that went unsolved for greater than twenty years till a DNA match for the assailant was discovered utilizing genetic family tree tracing.
The killing of 20-year-old Sophie Sergie on the College of Alaska Fairbanks in 1993 flummoxed investigators for years. Utilizing the DNA proof they linked Steven Downs of Auburn, Maine, to the crime and he was arrested in 2019.
Jury members in Fairbanks deliberated two days earlier than they discovered Downs responsible of homicide and rape, the Anchorage Every day Information reported. Downs, now 47, was a freshman on the college in 1993 and a resident of the dorm the place Sergie was discovered useless.
Sergie was a former UAF scholar, however she was not enrolled when she went to stick with a buddy on the UAF dorm shortly earlier than her loss of life, in response to charging paperwork filed within the case. She was final seen alive when she left to smoke a cigarette and her buddy urged she smoke close to exhaust vents within the ladies's bathe room to keep away from the chilly exterior, the court docket papers mentioned.
Janitors discovered Sergie's physique in a tub within the bathe room on the afternoon of April 26, 1993. Officers mentioned she was sexually assaulted, shot behind the pinnacle and stabbed quite a few occasions.
Organic proof was collected, however on the time, DNA expertise was not in use in Alaska, in response to the court docket papers filed in 2019 on the time of Downs' arrest. Investigators later developed a DNA profile to check to the DNA of potential suspects over time, to no avail.
However with the unfold of genetic family tree testing, which individuals can use to seek out out details about their ancestry, the Alaska State Troopers' Chilly Case Unit had a brand new method to hunt for the killer and in 2018 submitted the DNA profile to an organization that runs such checks for evaluation. That led investigators to Downs.
The expertise has more and more allowed investigators to unravel chilly circumstances, together with the high-profile seize of California's Golden State Killer in 2018.
Downs did not testify in his trial, which started in January.
Jurors heard a recording of Downs' dialog with investigators through the trial. Downs denied figuring out Sergie or preserving a gun in his room, and instructed police he was together with his girlfriend on the time.
Prosecutors mentioned through the trial that solely DNA from Downs was collected on the crime scene. Nonetheless, Downs' protection legal professional, James Howaniec, mentioned there have been different hairs and fingerprints on the scene, Anchorage tv station KTUU reported.
The bullet that struck Sergie was closely broken and unsuitable for firearm comparisons, forensic consultants testified. Regulation enforcement seized a .22-caliber rifle from Downs' residence in Maine, however his legal professional argued it was not the identical weapon used to shoot Sergie.
Sergie's brother, Alexie, listened to the decision on Thursday and described a "feeling of aid that they discovered, the jurors discovered him responsible," KTUU-TV reported.
He mentioned the case has taken a toll on the household over time. Their mom handed away in 2021, after Downs had been arrested however earlier than the trial.
"On particular events, she'd simply burst out crying for slightly bit," Alexie Sergie mentioned. "And she or he'd begin a prayer and begin praying. ... I mentioned to myself, you understand, one in every of today they're going to discover they man, they'll discover him. No one can cover for therefore lengthy."
Downs' sentencing is deliberate for September.