Alaska troopers announce cold-case murder arrest
Posted Feb 15, 2019 5:59 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska State Troopers say a suspect has been arrested in the sexual assault and murder of a 20-year-old woman whose body was found in a dorm bathtub at the University of Alaska Fairbanks nearly 26 years ago.
Troopers say 44-year-old Steven Downs of Auburn, Maine, was arrested in Auburn on Friday on charges of first-degree murder and sexual assault in the 1993 death of Sophie Sergie of Pitkas Point.
Troopers say new DNA technology led to Downs.
According to troopers, Downs was a UAF student at the time and lived at the dorm where Sergie’s body was found.
Sergie was not a UAF student, but was staying with a friend at the dorm.
Troopers say Downs will be extradited to Alaska. Online court files do not list his attorney.
The Associated Press
