PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In closing arguments, prosecutors from the Alaska Attorney General’s office are expected to tell the jury the best evidence of Downs’ guilt is his DNA from semen found inside the victim, 20-year-old Sophie Sergie...In closings, prosecutors are expected to argue, besides the DNA proving sexual assault, Downs was in the dorm that night, his alibi doesn’t hold up, and he owned guns like the one that killed Sergie."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "The defense has raised the possibility of alternate suspects, pointing to DNA evidence on Sergie’s chest that is not linked to Downs, while arguing investigators never found a murder weapon or any Down’s fingerprints at the crime scene.
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STORY: "Trial of Maine man accused of three-decade old murder in Alaska nears conclusion," by WABI 5 TV staff, published by WABI TV, on January 5, 2022.
SUB-HEADING: "The trial began in Fairbanks Alaska ib January 12."
GIST: "Closing arguments will now be Monday, Feb. 7, in the Alaska murder trial of Steven Downs, 47, from Auburn, for a long-unsolved crime that occurred in 1993, when he was an 18-year-old college freshman on the Fairbanks campus of the University of Alaska.
The trial began in Fairbanks on Jan. 12 and completed testimony Friday, after three weeks, double the pace jurors were told to expect.
Judge Thomas Temple postponed closing arguments, which were expected to occur Friday, so he would have enough time to deliver jury instructions and fit four hours of closing arguments on the same day.
Earlier, the final defense witness and prosecution rebuttal witnesses ran longer than anticipated.
In closing arguments, prosecutors from the Alaska Attorney General’s office are expected to tell the jury the best evidence of Downs’ guilt is his DNA from semen found inside the victim, 20-year-old Sophie Sergie.
Sergie, a native Alaskan on leave that semester from the UAF, had been visiting friends on the second floor of Bartlett Hall, a co-ed dorm, where Downs lived.
Sergie’s lifeless body was discovered on April 26, 1993, in a state of undress in a bathtub inside a woman’s bathroom.
She had been stabbed in the face and died from a single 22-caliber gunshot to her head.
Her murder remained unsolved for nearly three decades, until crime scene DNA was linked to the DNA profile of Downs’ aunt, who lives in Vermont and had shared her information with a genealogy website.
In closings, prosecutors are expected to argue, besides the DNA proving sexual assault, Downs was in the dorm that night, his alibi doesn’t hold up, and he owned guns like the one that killed Sergie.
The defense has raised the possibility of alternate suspects, pointing to DNA evidence on Sergie’s chest that is not linked to Downs, while arguing investigators never found a murder weapon or any Down’s fingerprints at the crime scene.
Each side gets two hours to sum up.
Downs did not testify, but the jury heard him defend himself in an audio recording of a February 2019 interrogation by Alaska State Police detectives in Auburn, saying the charges were “impossible” and that he did not know Sergie.
Downs has been in custody for nearly three years since his arrest."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
