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Steven Downs of Auburn, Maine, was arrested in Auburn on Friday on charges of first-degree murder and sexual assault in the April 1993 death of Sophie Sergie of Pitkas Point, troopers said.
New DNA technology led to Downs, according to troopers. The technology, called genetic genealogy testing, was also used to make an arrest last year in the Golden State Killer case in California. Former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo faces 13 rape-related charges and 13 murder counts stemming from crimes in the 1970s and 1980s across six counties in the state.
Encouraged by the new investigative method, the Alaska Troopers' Cold Case Unit (CCU) submitted the unknown DNA profile from Sophie's case in July of 2018 to Parabon Nanolabs, a Virginia-based company which utilizes extracted DNA to perform the genetic genealogy testing.
Downs, 44, was a UAF student at the time of the killing and lived at the dorm where Sergie's body was found, troopers said.
Downs will be extradited to Alaska, troopers said. Online court files do not list an attorney for Downs.
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