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Research website by Alice de Sturler

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You are here: Home / Archives for Alaska

Alaska

Sophie Sergie Verdict: Guilty

February 10, 2022 By Alice

Sophie Sergie black and white version

Despite several setbacks and delays due to Covid19, the trial in the 1993 rape-murder of Sophie Sergie finally took place in the beginning of this year. I did not post daily updates but here is the verdict and my summary: Steven Downs faced first degree murder and first degree sexual assault. The jury found him guilty. […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Sophie Sergie

Update Sophie Sergie Case

December 16, 2021 By Alice

Sophie Sergie tiled background

The Sun Journal notes that defendant Steven H. Downs will be allowed to present three alternative suspects in the 1993 rape-murder of Sophie Sergie. In previous posts, I have mentioned other suspects and what I saw as problematic for the defense. Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Thomas Temple’s order allows these three men to be brought […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Sophie Sergie

Sophie Sergie: cyber attacks

May 13, 2021 By Alice

Sophie Sergie tiled background

The pretrial evidence hearings in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie are delayed till further notice. Why? The Alaska court system’s cybersecurity has been breached. Nobody is safe from cyber attacks. About two weeks ago, the Alaska court system was forced offline. Without internet connection, no Zoom. Steven H. Downs, charged with Sophie Sergie’s murder, […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Sophie Sergie

Sophie Sergie: Hearing Day 8

April 14, 2021 By Alice

Sophie Sergie Photograph Alaska State Troopers

On Tuesday, April 13, the pre-trial hearings continued in the 1993 rape-murder of Sophie Sergie. Both the Sun Journal and the Union Leader reported about a crucial piece of information: the bullet that caused her death. Again, the hearing was by video conference. Sophie Sergie was killed with a single bullet to the back of […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Sophie Sergie

Sophie Sergie: Hearing Day 7

April 13, 2021 By Alice

Sophie Sergie tiled background

On Monday, April 12, the hearings in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie continued by video conference. This time, the possibilities of alternative suspects were discussed, that is, suspects other than Steven H. Downs. I hinted in other posts that I wondered about phenotyping in this case, if it was done, and if Downs resembles […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Sophie Sergie

Sophie Sergie: Hearing Day 6

March 12, 2021 By Alice

Sophie Sergie black and white version

Central Maine reports that on Thursday, the hearings in the 1993 rape-murder of Sophie Sergie continued by video conference. Steven H. Downs attended. He is charged in this case. We heard from CeCe Moore, the chief genetic genealogist with Parabon NanoLabs. She matched part of the DNA found in semen to a profile in GEDmatch. […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News, Unsolved Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, phenotyping, Sophie Sergie

Sophie Sergie: Hearing Day 5

March 11, 2021 By Alice

Sophie Sergie tiled background

Jennifer Foster, an Alaska Crime Lab supervisor, testified March 10, 2021 by video during the pretrial hearings in the case of Sophie Sergie who was raped-murdered on April 25, 1993. Steven H. Downs is charged in her sexual assault and murder and appeared in the Alaska Superior Court, Fairbanks. He is represented by defense attorney […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News, Unsolved Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, M-Vac Systems, Sophie Sergie

Sophie Sergie: Hearing Day 4

February 6, 2021 By Alice

Sophie Sergie tiled background

On Friday, Feb 5, the evidence hearings in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie continued. Gun Steven H. Downs’ former girlfriend Katherine deSchweinitz Lee testified through videoconference in court: according to her Steve did not own a gun during the years they dated at Alaska State University (ASU) and they dated for about 4 years. […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, M-Vac Systems, Sophie Sergie, touch DNA

Sophie Sergie: Hearing Day 3

February 4, 2021 By Alice

Sophie Sergie tiled background

The defense team of Steven H. Downs led by Attorney James Howaniec, filed 11 motions in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie. I previously wrote nine motions so this is a correction. All the hearings did start on Feb 1, 2021, a delay from April 2020 due to the pandemic. Two things dominated this day: […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Sophie Sergie

Sophie Sergie: Hearing Day 2

February 3, 2021 By Alice

Sophie Sergie

The case against Steven H. Downs in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie may not be as airtight as the authorities had hoped. They had to admit that they made mistakes. The mistakes affect the search warrants that were used at Downs’ home to find a gun and the cheek swab to collect DNA for […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Sophie Sergie

Sophie Sergie: evidence hearing

February 2, 2021 By Alice

Sophie Sergie

Yesterday, an evidence hearing took place in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Crime Steven H. Downs (now 46) faces two felony counts for Sophie’s murder. According to the authorities, Sophie was shot in the back of her head with a .22-caliber gun. Police found such a caliber gun in Downs’ […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Sophie Sergie

Arrest in 1993 Sophie Sergie murder

February 16, 2019 By Alice

Sophie Sergie Photograph Alaska State Troopers

On Feb 15, 2019 Alaska State Troopers made an arrest in the 1993 murder of Sophie Sergie. “Steven H. Downs, 44, of Auburn, Maine, was arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder in the death of 20-year-old Sergie, the state troopers said in a news conference in Anchorage Friday. Downs was employed as a […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News, Forensics Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Sophie Sergie

Case of the Month: Sophie Sergie (1973 – 1993)

April 1, 2017 By Alice

Sophie Sergie

This month is the 24th anniversary of the Sophie Sergie murder that still haunts the Fairbanks authorities. On April 26, 1993, around 2pm, Sophie Sergie (20) was found dead by a janitor. Her body was in a bathtub in the second floor women’s restroom of Bartlett Hall, University of Alaska. She was raped and killed. The […]

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Filed Under: Case of the Month Tagged With: Alaska, Case of the Month, Sophie Sergie

Laura Henderson-Ibach: Mac’s van

April 27, 2011 By Alice

leaning angel

One of the issues in the Laura Henderson-Ibach case has been Mac’s van. Did a live or death struggle take place here or not? As you have been able to read in our post, the van doubled as a temporary home to Jim Kerwin. Please take a look at these pictures. They were taken before […]

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Filed Under: Guest Bloggers, Missing Persons Tagged With: Alaska, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Laura Henderson-Ibach, Missing Person, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Wrongful Convictions

Laura Henderson-Ibach: Who else was involved?

April 20, 2011 By Alice

leaning angel

Laura Henderson-Ibach, Part 3. Who else was involved in this case? by guest blogger Tiah ________________ Ruble’s reputation was sullied by all his actions and lies and he chose to leave Kodiak. He has refused to speak to anyone regarding this case ever since. I strongly suspect that Ruble was somehow involved in Laura’s disappearance […]

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Filed Under: Guest Bloggers, Missing Persons Tagged With: Alaska, Evidence, Forensics, Kidnapping, Laura Henderson-Ibach, Missing Person, Prosecutorial Misconduct

Laura Henderson-Ibach: The Changing of the Stories

April 19, 2011 By Alice

Part 2: The Changing of the Stories by Tiah in the case of Laura Henderson-Ibach. ______________________ After the police had spoken to all Laura Henderson-Ibach’s co-workers they all said they didn’t know anything about a meeting except for CW. But even she didn’t have a name for this unknown man. Police had asked them to all […]

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Filed Under: Guest Bloggers, Missing Persons Tagged With: Alaska, Forensics, Identification, Laura Henderson-Ibach, Missing Person, Prosecutorial Misconduct

Laura Henderson-Ibach, A life lost and many lives destroyed

April 19, 2011 By Alice

leaning angel

Please welcome guest blogger Tiah who will be covering the cold case of Laura Henderson-Ibach. Unlike most guest bloggers on my site, Tiah is not involved in the legal world. Instead, she is an accountant, a far leap from the world of forensics and law! Tiah has assisted on appeal cases in the past; she was […]

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Filed Under: Guest Bloggers, Unsolved Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Kidnapping, Laura Henderson-Ibach, Missing Person, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Wrongful Convictions

More on the Laura Henderson-Ibach case

March 21, 2011 By Alice

leaning angel

Laura Henderson-Ibach disappeared on March 28, 1986. She and her husband Jack Ibach were getting a divorce. The authorities suspect that she was kidnapped, murdered, and that her remains discarded somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness. Her remains have never been found but some of her personal belongings were. Charged and sentenced to life for this […]

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Filed Under: Forensics, Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Alaska, Forensics, Laura Henderson-Ibach, Missing Person

Missing: Laura Henderson-Ibach

January 16, 2011 By Alice

leaning angel

Understanding the 1986 Laura Henderson-Ibach disappearance is not easy. This case is as mind-boggling as it gets. I call it a disappearance because Laura’s body has never been found. No forensic evidence points to a crime scene. Yet, two men are serving 99 years in prison. They have been convicted of kidnapping and first degree […]

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Filed Under: Missing Persons, Unsolved Tagged With: Alaska, DNA, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Laura Henderson-Ibach, Miscarriage of Justice, Missing Person

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Author Notes

I write about old, unsolved cases from the pre-DNA era as they need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to professionals.

Posts include homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book. Please check the FAQ page for more.

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Alice de Sturler
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