On Monday, February 7, 2022, a Fairbanks Alaska Superior Court jury sat in their chairs,

listening to the closing arguments that would bring to a close the several weeks of testimony

in the trial of Sophie Sergei's alleged killer.

After 26 years of searching for answers in the unsolved homicide of 20-year-old Sophie

Sergei, DNA evidence led detectives from Alaska to the doorstep of an Auburn main man named

Stephen Downes.

He was once a student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where Sophie's body was found

dead in a dorm room bathtub in April of 1993.

In February of 2022, Downes was back in Fairbanks, sitting in that courtroom and awaiting the

jury's verdict for the charges brought against him.

I have no interest in burying the lead here because of just how rare these conclusions

are.

On Thursday, February 10, 2022, the jury returned with their verdict.

Stephen Downes guilty on the charges of murder and sexual assault.

Sophie Sergei's killer was finally identified and convicted in the long-standing cold case.

I covered Sophie Sergei's case in two parts on Dark Down East.

You can find the episodes wherever you're listening right now.

As promised, I want to share the updates and notable moments from the conclusion of the

trial proceedings and take a look at what's next for the case of Sophie Sergei.

I'm Kylie Lo and this is a special update in the case of Sophie Sergei on Dark Down East.

Part of the anticipated strategy of Stephen Downes' defense team led by main attorney James

Hwanik, included introducing possible alternative suspects for the killing of Sophie Sergei.

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