Ep: 107 | The Murder of Sophie Sergie | Genetic Genealogy Solves 28-year-old Alaskan Cold Case | Murder Unscripted

About this episode

The episode covers the emotional story of Sophie Sergie, her murder, and the genetic genealogy breakthrough that solved her 28-year-old cold case.

Alaskan Sophie Sergie came from a remote Yupik village of 70 people. She was going to be the first in her family to graduate college. The last thing she told her family was a promise to bring her little brother a brand new kite. She never came home. On April 25th, 1993, Sophie Sergie was found violently murdered in a University of Alaska Fairbanks dorm bathroom. Her case went cold, and it stayed that way for more than a quarter century, until a woman uploaded her DNA to an ancestry site and unknowingly pointed investigators straight at her nephew, Steven Downs, who had been quietly living as a nurse in Maine the entire time. Ed covers Sophie's emotional story, the 28-year cold case, and the genetic genealogy breakthrough that finally brought justice. Ep. 107 | Collegiate Crimes Block | Murder Unscripted | June 2026 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/murder-unscripted/id1750146409 https://open.spotify.com/show/2AUGh12ei1wk8x7CvcX9qH

People in this episode

Host: Ed

Topics covered

• cold case
• genetic genealogy
• true crime
• murder
• justice
• Alaska

Keywords

• Sophie Sergie
• Steven Downs
• cold case
• genetic genealogy
• murder
• Alaska
• justice

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Alaska Fairbanks

Places: Alaska, Maine

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