235 - The Murder of Sigrid Stevenson - Trace Evidence

Episode Transcript
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(00:09):
Twenty five year old Sigrid Stevenson waspreparing to begin her second year in the
graduate music program at Trenton State College. A brilliant and talented pianist, Sigrid
was drawn to the school for itsreputation, known as one of the finest
musical instruction institutes in all of thecountry. Passionate and driven by her music,

(00:30):
Sigrid chased her dreams until the verymoment a brutal and violent killer dashed
them. Just before midnight on Septemberfourth, nineteen seventy seven, the body
of the pianist was discovered on thestage in Kendall Hall, one of the
oldest buildings on campus. She waslying feet from her beloved piano, and

(00:51):
it was a grizzly scene. Detectivesdescribed a massive amount of blood on the
floor, on the bench, onthe sheet music. It appeared Sigrid had
been attacked from behind, but therewere no probable suspects, hard evidence,
or solid leads. Nearly fifty yearslater, much has changed. Trenton State

(01:11):
College is now the College of NewJersey, and while Kendall Hall still stands,
the surrounding campus is completely transformed.Sigrid's story has become part of a
complexity of misinformation, inaccurate reporting,and changing details, blended with contemporary ghost
stories and modern works of fiction.Yet there remains the case of a murdered

(01:34):
woman and the killer who thus farhas gotten a way to live his life
while robbing Sigrid and her family ofeverything that might have ever been. This
is Trace Evidence, Episode two thirtyfive, The Murder of Sigrid Stevenson.

(01:59):
Welcome to Trace Evidence. I'm yourhost, Stephen Pacheco. Today we examined
the brutal, unsolved murder of twentyfive year old Sigrid Stevenson, a music
major attending what was then known asTrenton State College in Ewing Township, New
Jersey. However, before getting intothe case, I wanted to call your

(02:20):
attention to a major case update.In episodes one seventy and one seventy one,
we covered the disturbing murder of fiveyear old Justin Turner in Berkeley County,
South Carolina in nineteen eighty nine.Earlier this week, Justin's father,
Victor, and his stepmother, Pamela, who has since changed her name to

(02:40):
Megan, have both been arrested andcharged in Justin's murder. This is still
a developing story and I'll be producinga full update episode in the coming weeks,
but I wanted to share this goodnews with you. While nothing can
ever bring Justin back, perhaps seeingthese monsters held responsible can help alleviate some

(03:01):
of the limitless pain and grief theyhave caused. In one final quick note,
I will once again be representing TraceEvidence on podcast Row at crime Con
this year, which is set totake place in Nashville, Tennessee, May
thirty first through June second. CrimeCON's one of my favorite events to attend

(03:22):
because it allows me to meet listeners, discuss cases, and get more informed
about other cases. If you're planningto attend, please use promo code trace
to save ten percent on your pass. That's crimecon dot com promo code trace
to save ten percent. I reallylook forward to seeing you there, and

(03:44):
now, without further ado, thisis the murder of Sigrid Stevenson. For
decades, students in fact at theCollege of New Jersey have written and shared
stories about what they believed to betheir own encounters with the supernatural. They

(04:08):
speak of doors creeping open, ofwindows slamming shut, and objects moving on
their own. The stories revolve aroundone of the oldest buildings on campus,
Calvin N. Kendall Hall, andit's been the location many a student who's
brought their friends to to creep themout, or their significant other to scare

(04:28):
them into holding on a little tighterand leaning in a little closer. No
one seemed to know the origin ofthe stories, and in the absence of
fact, dozens of fictitious stories weredreamed up to explain it all away.
Some believed it was all about amurder a young woman who was killed in
assorted series of ways as to satiatethe appetite of the audience or perhaps the

(04:50):
storyteller that night. Some accounts sayshe took her own life. Others tell
the grizzly tale of a musician strangledto death with wire torn straight from the
piano she was playing moments before herlife was ended. While each story became
more outrageous than the previous, thetruth behind these stories and the dark shadow

(05:13):
cast over Kendall Hall, was buriedunder a few more inches of dirt and
disinterest. As life became rumor andrumor became legend, most people forgot that
there was a dark and disturbing truthat the heart of those stories. It's
the story of a twenty five yearold musician named Sigrid who came to the
university to get a master's degree inmusic. She was vibrant, creative,

(05:38):
intelligent, and full of life.She dreamed of being a concert pianist,
of teaching children to love the pianothe way that she did. Then one
September night in nineteen seventy seven,someone decided to crush all of her hopes
and dreams, to shatter a family, and to commit one of the most
brutal and grisly crimes in the historyof the state of New Jersey, a

(06:01):
crime which remains unsolved some forty sevenyears later, nearly twice as long as
the skillful pianist, loving daughter andcaring sister was actually alive. Segred Miller
Stevenson was born on Thursday, Januarytwenty fourth, nineteen fifty two, to
parents Peter and Barbara in Alameda County, California. She was the Stevenson's first

(06:26):
child and would be raised primarily inthe city of Livermore, located forty miles
east of San Francisco. At thetime, Livermore was a small city with
a population of just barely two thousand. However, times were about to change,
as in September of that year,eight months after Cigarette's birth, the
University of California Radiation Laboratory was openinga new branch in the city, a

(06:50):
branch which we know today as LawrenceLivermore National Lab. Peter, who was
a lieutenant in the Marine Corps,attended Princeton University, and following his graduation
in an accelerated class, he andBarbara married in July of nineteen forty six.
Just a few years later, theyheaded west to California, initially settling

(07:13):
in Berkeley. While Barbara had attendedVassar majoring in economics, she would ultimately
trade in her work with the GallupOrganization, becoming a homemaker and raising the
family. Peter attended postgraduate classes whileworking as a researcher with the University of
California at Riverside. He would goon to be hired at Livermore National Lab,

(07:34):
where he was employed as a nuclearchemist. This new position offered the
family greater financial stability and freedom,and in nineteen fifty five, when Sigrid
was three years old, her parentswelcomed their second child, another daughter they'd
name Sylvia. Not a great dealof information about Sigrid's upbringing has ever been

(07:55):
publicly revealed, as her family werestaunchly protective of their privacy. However,
many have noted that Sigrid was abrilliant and talented young woman whose interests were
more focused on the arts than onacademics, but she performed well as a
student regardless. Reportedly, her fatherhad an affinity for music and was a
skilled guitar player. When Sigrid wasyoung, he introduced the instrument to his

(08:20):
daughter, and it quickly became apparentthat music would be her one true love.
While the guitar may have been theinstrument that opened up the world of
music to her, Sigrid would findherself most powerfully drawn to the piano.
Taking lessons as a youngster, shedeveloped into an extremely talented and skilled pianist
who frequently performed at school recitals andwith the theater, presenting music for plays.

(08:45):
While music may have been Sigrid's mostprominent artistic ability and form of expression,
it's worth noting that she was alsoa skilled artist writer, and she
had been involved with the drama department. Photographs of the time show a young
woman with shark her focused eyes anda serious, if not dour expression,
But descriptions given by friends tell thestory of a deeply complex, fun loving,

(09:09):
sweet and adventurous young woman who hada zest for life and a wander
lust which could not be contained.Sigrid, or Siggy, as she was
often referred to by her friends,has frequently been described as someone who didn't
follow the mainstream and often went herown way regardless of what others might have
thought. She was fiercely independent andto some degree, seemed to prefer her

(09:31):
alone time over basic socialization. Friendsand teachers noted that she loved to take
long walks by herself, accompanied onlyby her trustee journal and sketchbook. Sometimes
those walks would transform into hikes throughthe expansive Livermore Valley. She was often
referred to as a deep thinker,a sensitive young woman who some would lament

(09:54):
possessed an almost dangerously trusting nature.Though she made friends, none of them
would define themselves as a best friendor even a close friend, saying Sigrid
was the type to keep you atarm's length. She was polite, sweet
and kind, but she wasn't lookingto invite folks into her circle, which
she kept reserved for herself and herselfalone. Although no one has ever surfaced

(10:18):
to report anything negative about Sigrid orher behaviors, it's quite clear that societal
norms of the time dictated that shebe somewhat of an outcast. Acquaintances,
classmates, and even former teachers wouldrefer to her in a variety of ways
that gently skirted along the border ofoffensive, while others crossed the boundary wantonly.

(10:39):
Some referred to her as unique,artistic, or somewhat eccentric, while
others preferred terms such as weird,strange, or freaky. In a Treton
Times article from nineteen seventy eight,one professor described her as eccentric, when
another professor also present for the interviewinterjected saying she wasn't eccentric, she was

(11:01):
just playing weird. R Thomas Hageman, the public relations officer for Trenton State
College, perhaps embodies the contradiction's best. Asked to describe the musician, he
replied saying she was quote bizarre.No, bizarre's too strong a word.
Unorthodox, quite a loner, unconventional, friendly, but a loner. End

(11:24):
quote. In the spring of nineteenseventy. At the age of eighteen,
Sigrid graduated from Livermore High School andwould move quickly to the University of California
at Riverside, where she pursued adegree in music and considered taking up additional
courses for education. At the time, she dreamed of becoming a concert pianist,

(11:45):
but she seemed to have some doubtsin her own abilities, batting around
the idea of picking up a teachingcertificate, maybe as a fallback. While
attending Riverside, she got a sidejob teaching music to special needs children,
and while she made may not havehad much time for her peers, friends
and colleagues were adamant that she possesseda deep love and appreciation of children.

(12:07):
She would spend countless hours teaching themand playing music for them, and this
experience played a large role in helpingsway her mind more towards education. While
she was away at school, Cigarette'sparents tried to encourage her to get more
involved in clubs, groups, andsocial activities. They urged her to make
friends to experience the fun of collegethe way they had, but she was

(12:31):
resistant to the idea, assuring herfamily that she was plenty happy spending much
of her time alone. Regardless ofwhat was going on in her life,
she was always most focused on thepiano and would practice for hours every morning
and night. If she was awareof a piano that was available, she'd
be there to play it, pushingherself to the limits. Classmates at Riverside

(12:54):
were quick to say that while theywere going to football games, partying,
and heading out for dates on theweekend, Sigrid was content to play the
piano in an empty room until thesun came up. While some admired her
dedication to music, others described therelationship as an obsession. SIGRed seemed to
have a connection to her music thatothers could inadequately define, perhaps for a

(13:16):
lack of experience at that level ofplay, perhaps due to the limitations of
the time. While I'm in noway qualified to make diagnoses of any kind,
there's a message that seems to behidden somewhere between the lines. Throughout
the nineteen fifties and sixties, peoplemay not have fully understood her behaviors,

(13:37):
with many saying that it could sometimesbe challenging to spend time with her,
as she often didn't pick up onnormal social cues, though there's no way
to confirm this today, I verymuch got the impression that we're Sigarette a
teenager. Now, she might havebeen somewhere on the spectrum at the same
time. Maybe it was everyone aroundSigrid who struggled to understand her, and

(14:00):
not so much a result of herown behaviors, But I digress. Sigrid
graduated from Riverside in nineteen seventy fourat the age of twenty two, and
here there seems to come somewhat ofan inexplicable gap in her timeline. For
the most part, there's no mentionof what Sigrid was up to between the
years of nineteen seventy four and nineteenseventy six. There are many references to

(14:24):
this time, none of which areoverly specific. It appears that after finishing
up at Riverside, she did sometraveling, continued to teach music to children,
and started making plans for the nextphase of her academic career. Sigrid
ultimately decided she did want to pursuea teaching certificate, and along with that,
she set her sights on obtaining amaster's degree in music. The school

(14:48):
that caught her eye was Trenton StateCollege, known today as the College of
New Jersey, located in Mercer County'sEwing township, forty miles northeast of Philadelphia.
Trenton State was nearly three thousand milesfrom Livermore, but the distance didn't
bother Sigared. She hadn't chosen theschool because of its location, but because

(15:09):
in the nineteen seventies, Trenton Statewas known as having one of the best
music instruction schools in the country.In the fall of nineteen seventy six,
at the age of twenty four,sigaredd enrolled in advanced music classes as a
graduate music student. Sigared's first yearat Trenton seems to have gone off without
a hitch. She performed well inher classes, practiced piano as often as

(15:33):
she could, and impressed her instructorswith her skill and drive. She shared
a dorm room with Marie de Pascual, a twenty year old from Somerville,
who found her roommate's eccentricities bothersome.De Pascual would later tell reporters that SIGRed
was a loner who lived her lifedangerously, hitchhiking and backpacking. By herself

(15:54):
with little to no regard for herown safety. De Pascual later told the
Journey Journal, quote, I thinkshe was too friendly for her own good.
She would talk to anybody end quote. While much of the rural campus
of Trenton State has changed over theyears, much as the name has,

(16:14):
there remained some of the original buildingsand halls. Calvin N. Kendall Hall
was the fourth building constructed in nineteenthirty two on what is described as the
modern campus, and it was originallybuilt to accommodate student assemblies, music productions,
and theater productions. Kendall Hall washome to two theaters with stadium style

(16:34):
seating, as well as a costumeshop. In addition, it contained several
faculty offices, classrooms, and soundproofrooms for practicing. Kendall Hall would quickly
become one of Sigared's favorite places oncampus. Often she could be seen riding
her green bike across the quad,shoving the front tier into the rack outside

(16:56):
the building, and making her wayinside, where she would practice for countless
on a pit piano. It wasn'tthe greatest piano, with many accounts saying
that a wooden block had been usedto keep the instrument properly balanced, but
it was a piano that she couldget her hands on. Throughout much of
the day and early evening, Kendallwas flushed with students and the piano was

(17:18):
often in use. However, atnight there wouldn't be anyone there. Many
students on campus had learned that thelocks on Old Kendall Hall weren't the most
secure, as the building hadn't seenany construction upgrades in decades. A set
of white wooden doors in the rearof the building didn't lock properly, and
any student inclined to do so couldeasily gain entrance by making a strong,

(17:42):
fast and hard pull on one ofthe doors, which would simply fly open.
Slamming the door would re engage thelock, but it could easily be
overpowered with another form pull from outside. According to Marie D. Pascual,
as well as others who knew cigarette, it wasn't uncommon for the pianists to

(18:02):
spend entire nights in Kendall Hall.She'd sneak in, play piano for hours
and crash for a few hours beneaththe stage. This wasn't unique to Sigrid,
though, as campus security would laterreport that they were aware of numerous
students over the years who had spenttheir nights beneath the stage in Kendall Hall.
For their part, they would checkthe building most nights, and when

(18:23):
they did find students present, they'descort them out with a stern reminder that
the building was off limits after schoolhours. This, of course, did
little to dissuade those who really wantedto gain entry, and when it came
to Sigrid, no one was goingto tell her she couldn't play that piano
to her heart's content. From reportsof the time, it seems apparent Sigrid

(18:45):
had been caught in Kendall Hall afterhours on many different occasions. After completing
her first year at Trenton in thespring of nineteen seventy seven, Sigrid decided
to spend her summer traveling and seekingout adventure. Much of her comings and
goings that summer are left up todebate, as if corroborating evidence exists to
confirm her precise locations. It hasnever been fully revealed. We know that

(19:10):
she decided to stay in the areathat year, and needing a place,
she ended up renting out a roomfrom one of her professors a doctor Allan
Lutz. That arrangement stayed in place, allegedly until August, when she suddenly
decided to move out of the Lutzesand into the home of a local Ewing
township volunteer fireman. This man hasnever been identified publicly, though it's been

(19:33):
suggested that the situation was similar todoctor Lutz in that Sigrid simply rented a
room in the home occupied by thefirefighter and his family. Classmates and friends
of the time reported they did notbelieve Sigrid was in a relationship with anyone.
Sigrid kept herself busy during the summer, teaching music to local children and

(19:55):
singing in the choir at the NassauPresbyterian Church in Princeton, just ten miles
north of Trenton. State Timothy Grant, Trenton's campus police chief, would later
state that Sigrid often arrived early forchurch services and stayed late, seemingly enjoying
the atmosphere. Grant would go onto note if Sigrid wasn't at the church,

(20:15):
she could almost always be found playingthe piano. In addition, Sigrid
had made arrangements to expand her pursuitof education and had managed to get a
position student teaching at Fisher Junior HighSchool, where she was set to begin
that fall. At the end ofAugust, twenty five year old Sigrid decided
to go on a large scale hitchhikingtrip by herself, which would take her

(20:37):
up into New England, across theborder into Canada, and as far as
Nova Scotia. While money might havebeen tight, she always found a way
to make a few bucks to continuefunding her trips. Grant would later report,
quote she carried a sketch book throughher summer travels and sold drawings of
the city scapes to supplement her tightcollege student budget end quote. Another friend

(21:02):
would note that Sigrid never allowed herfinances to limit her zest for travel and
her love of life. The talentedpianist returned from her Canadian travels on Friday
September two. Less than forty eighthours later, she would be dead.
Apparently upon returning to Ewing Township,Sigrid found herself without a place to stay

(21:23):
for reasons which have never been fullydetailed. The family that she was staying
with had taken a trip out oftown and were delayed in their return.
It appears that making the best ofa bad situation, Sigrid decided to return
to Kendall Hall, where she wouldfind both a place to stay for the
next few days and a piano topractice on. As she had in the

(21:44):
past, it had been weeks sinceshe sat down at a piano, and
her journal detailed how stiff and achyher fingers were after playing for a few
hours that Friday night. Classes wereset to begin on Wednesday, September seventh,
and seemingly the twenty five year oldhad intended to spend the next three
to five days living as a secretresident of Kendall Hall. Trenton State was

(22:08):
a large university with at the timea campus that measured at two hundred and
ten acres. When classes began,approximately twenty two hundred students would be moving
into the dorms. Forty three hundredundergraduates lived in the area and commuted,
while the campus would also welcome fivethousand grad students and part timers. However,

(22:30):
the campus was mostly empty when Sigaredreturned that Friday night, and would
remain so over the weekend. It'slater been reported that there were only fifty
students and staff members present that firstweekend of the month, making the large
campus a veritable ghost town. Monday, September fifth was Labor Day, and

(22:51):
the holiday weekend thinned out campus evenfurther. The sheer absence of most students
and staff should have helped narrow downpotential suspects, and yet, nearly fifty
years later, the truth of thathorrible weekend remains obscured. While school was
out of session, Kendall Hall remainedin some form of limited use. There

(23:11):
were theater workshop groups that used thestage, and sometimes movies were shown there.
There were also groups of local actorsand singers who would put on small
plays and operas. As mentioned earlier, there were two theaters inside of the
hall, one for musical performances,which Sigrid utilized, and another for theater
productions, which was referred to asthe Stage Theater. On the evening of

(23:34):
Saturday, September third, a localtheater group was set to hold their final
performance of the summer at the StageTheater. The play was JB, written
by Archibald McLeish, and it's amodern day retelling of the biblical figure job.
There were sixteen cast members and approximatelythirty people in the audience. Sigrid

(23:56):
was not involved with the play,which utilized background music from a tape deck,
but at least one actor had invitedthe twenty five year old to view
this final performance. It was laterconfirmed by several members of the cast that
Sigrid was present for at least someof the play. After the cast went
downstairs to a basement dressing room referredto as the green Room. There they

(24:19):
encountered Sigrid, who was hanging aroundand chatting with actors. Multiple cast members
would later tell authorities that Sigrid madeit clear that she planned to spend the
night in Kendall Hall, explaining thatshe was locked out of her host family's
house. According to cast members,everyone had left the building by around twelve
thirty am on Sunday, September fourth. It appeared that Sigarette had left and

(24:44):
gone downstairs to sleep that night whileall members of the cast were still present.
In a journal entry, she wroteshe complained of loud voices and banging
upstairs as the crew broke down thesets. She wrote that it was frustrating
because she needed to get to sleepearly as possible so she could wake up
as early as possible to practice piano. For a few hours before security checked

(25:07):
the building. She noted that shewanted to be out before eleven am,
when the guards usually came by.The journal entry reportedly confirmed that she had
received multiple warnings about being in thebuilding after hours. No one can say
with any certainty what exactly happened afterthis journal entry. There's never been any

(25:29):
confirmation or statements issued that would showthat any campus security officers actually did check
the building on the morning of Sunday, September fourth, as Sigades suggested they
would at eleven am. In fact, we have only one alleged sighting of
the twenty five year old after twelvethirty am, and it isn't exactly a
strong one. According to the CourierPost, someone identified only as a friend

(25:55):
told investigators they saw Sigarede on Sundaymorning. She was reportedly spotted at a
movie theater some fifteen miles from thecampus. What movie theater, what time,
and who actually saw her? Thoseanswers have never been supplied around this
time. In nineteen seventy seven,campus security was made up of twelve trained

(26:15):
gun carrying police officers and seven securityguards who did not possess firearms. In
addition, the security force would generallybe supplemented with forty two student security aids
who monitored the dorms from six amto two pm. However, since classes
were not yet in session, itappears that campus security was at the time

(26:38):
simply the twelve cops and seven securityguards. Twenty two year old Thomas Cocatello
was one of those twelve armed campuspolice officers, and he was on patrol
that Sunday night. At approximately eleventhirty pm, he approached the south entrance
of Kendall Hall. There he spotteda familiar site green bike sitting in the

(27:00):
rack just outside the building. Thiscaught his attention for two reasons. One
the buildings should have been empty,and two he had seen the same bike
in the same rack the previous night. Making his way around to the building's
main entrance, the officer noted thathe had to use his keys to gain
entry since the building was locked,or at least as locked as it could

(27:22):
be when there's broken doors. Makinghis way through, the officer would come
upon a disturbing and grizzly scene.Up on the stage where the piano cigarette
played sat. He found a tremendousamount of blood pooling beside a large piece
of white canvas. Lifting the canvas, he discovered the nude, lifeless body

(27:44):
of Sigared Stevenson, lying face down. She had clearly been violently assaulted about
the head, and the damage donehad been so extensive that she could not
be identified by her face alone.There was blood everywhere, pulling on the
stage, splashed across the pages ofsheet music, on the piano, on
the piano bench, and there wasa thick trail leading from the piano to

(28:08):
the body, which was located justa few feet away. Cocotallo noted that
Cigaret's bare feet were splattered with bloodas well as some mud. Now I
should note there's a lot of contradictionsand conflicting information and descriptions of the scene.
Multiple articles report that when found,Cigarette's head was wrapped in a blood

(28:30):
soaked shirt, believed to be oneof her own. Other articles specified that
it was actually a scarf wrapped aroundher head, while other articles yet make
no mention of anything being on herhead. Most reports agree it was one
of her own shirts, though noone has ever determined if the shirt was
placed over Cigarett's head before the murderor after police theorized at the time that

(28:53):
the killer might have used the shirtto try and muffle cigarette screams. Another
contradiction is in relation to whether ornot cigarette had been tied or bound.
Initial reports note her wrists were bound. Later reports delete that detail. I
tend to believe her wrists were notbound, since there has never been any

(29:14):
mention of what they were bound with, rope, wire, cuffs, electrical
cord, etc. Also, decisionsmade later in the investigation seemed to suggest
that had she been bound during thecrime, she was not bound when her
body was found. I'll explain thisa little later when we get deeper into
the investigation. There was no signof a weapon at the scene, though

(29:37):
again we enter somewhat into the realmof the uncertain. Previously, I made
mention of a chunk of wood whichwas used to balance the piano. This
piece of wood was later described asbeing a two by four, and it
was further noted that while this boardof wood may have been used to balance
the piano, it also may haveactually functioned as a makeshift li keeping the

(30:00):
lid open during playing. Either way, investigators noted that this piece of wood
was not located at the crime scene, and it has never been recovered,
leading many to wonder if the blockof wood could have been the murder weapon,
which police have only ever described asa blunt instrument. Police theorized that

(30:22):
Sigrid had likely been playing the pianowhen she was attacked. The fact that
Sigrid was found nude through investigators fora loop. They assumed she had probably
been sexually assaulted prior to being killed, but the autopsy would later rule out
any signs of sexual assault. Thisleft detectives to determine whether Sigrid had chosen
to play the piano in the nude, or if perhaps someone had forced her

(30:47):
to strip prior to the murder.To say that, investigators at the scene
were baffled by what they saw wouldbe an understatement. Beyond the condition of
Cigarette's body and the bloody chaos ofthe scene, investigators recovered several items connected
to the victim. Firstly, theyfound her backpack, which contained her diary,
sketch book, and a large assortmentof clothes, which seemed to confirm

(31:11):
that at the time she didn't havea place to stay. Inside of the
backpack, they also recovered her wallet, which contained her license, as well
as seven dollars in cash and multipletravelers checks. Given that multiple personal items,
money, and checks had been leftbehind, police were pretty quick to
rule out the possibility that this hadbeen some kind of a robbery gone wrong.

(31:33):
It was also suggested later by aprosecutor that they had found cans of
beans that cigarette had apparently brought alongas a food source for the next few
days. In hopes of obtaining moreinformation about the days and hours leading up
to the murder, investigators read throughher journal and transcribed it. Tiffany Reid,
a campus police officer, would laterstate that the entries were extremely well

(31:59):
written and the cigared's creativity came throughthe pages. At the same time,
it was the writings of a womanwho refused to alter her lifestyle for safety
or the decorum of society. Reidexplained, quote, she wouldn't just follow
the normal flow of what you thinka female in the seventies would do.
She was very independent. She wouldquote people saying, oh, you shouldn't

(32:22):
do that, you shouldn't stay lateat night by yourself. It's dangerous.
But she just did that anyway.She did what she loved. End quote.
While the journal detailed her life forthe previous months and her travels up
through Canada. It did little tooffer insight into what may have led to
her brutal murder. The full contentof the journal has never been released to

(32:44):
the public. However, law enforcementhas made it clear that there was nothing
contained within the pages that gave themany solid leads or potential suspects. This
compounded the issues they were facing atthe crime scene. They could find no
trace of who may have purpose tradedthis heinous crime. There were no footprints,
fingerprints, fibers, hares, orany other forms of evidence recovered that

(33:07):
could help provide them with a directionto look. There was, however,
one piece of evidence that not onlyconfused investigators but also opened the door to
a pool of potential suspects. Namely, campus police. Investigators had contacted members
of the staff in an effort toget a positive identification of the victim,

(33:30):
and one of those who was broughtto the scene was doctor Stanley Austen,
a supervisor of the graduate music program. Almost every article about this case tells
the same needlessly gratuitous story about howdoctor Austin was only able to identify Sigared
by her hair due to the horrifyingextent of damage the killer had dealt to

(33:51):
her face. Why this is reportedso often, I don't know, since
it was not a positive identification andpolice were already in possession of the victim's
ID. Regardless, it was notdoctor Austin's alleged identification that opened new investigative
avenues, but instead his acknowledgment ofthe white canvas piano cover that the killer

(34:14):
had placed over Sigared's body. Thepiano cover was completely out of place,
doctor Austin told police, and wasn'teven kept in Kendall Hall. There was
no cover used for the piano cigaretteplade, as it was in poor shape,
was of lower value, and neededa chunk of wood to operate properly.
In fact, the cover belonged toa completely different piano that was housed

(34:37):
in a separate building. Today,north of Kendall Hall stands a modern building
which houses the physics, math andchemistry classrooms. At the time, Bray
Hall stood in its place, justseventy five yards from Kendall. Bray Hall
had been built more recently than Kendalland as such it had better construction,

(34:59):
stronger doors and locks that actually worked. While campus police later noted that they
hadn't felt concerns about the security ofKendall Hall because it housed nothing of value.
Bray Hall was home to a tenthousand dollars Mason and Hamlin piano,
as well as countless musical instruments ofhigh value. The white canvas cover came

(35:21):
from that ten thousand dollars piano.In addition to doctor Austin pointing this out,
another member of the music department wouldlater tell police he had seen the
white cover on the piano in BrayHall just a week or two prior to
the murder. Now here's where thingsget interesting. In order to transfer the
piano cover from Bray Hall to KendallHall, one needed to be in possession

(35:45):
of three keys, well technically twokeys, since we know due to poor
locks, the key wasn't necessary toget into Kendall to get to the piano
cover. He would need a keyto grant you entrance into Bray Hall,
and then a second key to getinto the concert hall in which the piano
was kept. It was reported atthe time of after the murder that the

(36:07):
locks on Brey Hall were tested andshowed that they were functioning properly. There
was only one doorway that led intothe concert hall, and that too was
kept behind a lock door, whichagain was checked and was shown to be
solid and functioning properly. There wereno windows in the concert hall either,
meaning getting through the lock door wasthe only way to get to that piano

(36:30):
and thus its cover. So obviouslythe question becomes who on campus had all
of the keys necessary to get intoBray and into the concert hall where they
could get the cover. Doctor StanleyAustin didn't have any of the keys,
and neither did Robert Rittenhouse, thenthe music department chair. Two janitors were

(36:50):
assigned to work Bray Hall, butneither of them possessed both of the keys
either. There were only two groupson campus that had both of the keys
with them at all times. Thetwelve members of the campus police and the
seven members of campus security asked aboutthe possibility that someone else could have gotten
into the building and into the concerthall. Doctor Austin was adamant that unlike

(37:15):
Kendall, no one could get insideBray Hall without the keys. He pointed
out the extremes to which Sigrid hadgone to be able to play the piano,
and Kendall her powerful drive to playfor hours at a time, at
her love of pianos in general.Noting the difference between the expensive piano and
the one she was last playing,he commented to police saying, quote,

(37:37):
believe me, if there was away anyone could have gotten access to the
concert room and the grand piano,Sigrid would have found it. End quote.
There was no doubt even without theinformation about the cover the keys and
bray Hall, campus law enforcement wasalready on the list of potential suspects.

(37:59):
I should note that at the timethis investigation was being handled jointly by the
campus police and the Ewing Township Police. Lieutenant Ed Shaler of the Ewing Police
was very concerned about the possibility thatthere was a chance their suspect was a
member of campus law enforcement, andin hopes of narrowing the pool, he
made a strong decision. Schler orderedthat all members of the campus police,

(38:23):
all members of the security team,and all patrol officers of the Ewing Township
Police would turn in their handcuffs andbatons so that they could be examined for
blood or any evidence linking them tothe murder our Thomas Hageman, the school's
public relations officer noted that investigators hadpointed out that marks on the victim's body

(38:46):
could have been caused by night sticksand handcuffs, such as those used by
campus law enforcement. This is partof why I leaned towards the idea that
Sigrid was not in fact bound whenshe was found, because if she had
been, and there'd be no needto examine the other handcuffs, it sounds
more likely that they found ligature markson her wrists, which could have been

(39:07):
caused by cuffs. Strangely, thenMercer County Assistant Prosecutor Paul O'Gara seemed frustrated
by the possibility of law enforcement involvement, and later expressed his opinion to The
Trenton Times. He stated that whilethe ligature marks could be compatible with handcuffs,
they could also match up to wire, rope or a number of other

(39:30):
items. He stated the marks couldbe quote compatible with eleven different things,
but not indicative of anyone end quote. He went on to state there was
no evidence campus police or security wereinvolved, saying, quote, lots of
people could have done it end quote, but that's not entirely true. Lots

(39:52):
of people didn't have access to BrayHall. Lots of people didn't have access
to the concert hall, and lotsof people didn't have access to that piano
cover. Police theorized it was possiblethat the suspect may have brought the canvas
over to the crime scene, perhapsnot to cover the body, but to
remove it and ultimately changed his mind. Others thought that since she was sleeping

(40:16):
there, Sigrid may have brought thecover to Kendall Hall. But both of
these trains of thought hit the samedead end. How could anyone have gotten
to the cover without having the keys? The best lead police still had pointed
in the one direction they didn't reallywant to go, towards campus law enforcement.

(40:37):
There is no way to detail howinvestigators handled the scene and what,
if anything, they brought with themfor analysis. Keep in mind this is
nineteen seventy seven and so DNA isn'teven on the radar. If that canvas
cover was still in an evidence lockertoday, they might be able to use
the MVAC in hopes of obtaining DNA. But police have never stated what evidence,

(40:59):
if any, they kept from thecrime scene, nor has there been
any statements made in these nearly fivedecades about testing anything. At the time,
police were direct saying that there waslittle physical evidence. Where that evidence
is today is up for debate ifit still exists. Doctor Rafat Ahmad of

(41:21):
the Mercer County Medical Examiner's Office wouldultimately conduct the autopsy. He would rule
that Sigared suffered multiple injuries, includinga fractured skull, and had excessive bleeding
from cuts to her face and scalp. Furthermore, he noted that she had
died from blood clots due to successivebeating on the head with a blunt instrument.
Doctor Ahmad stated that cigarette had sustainedfifteen deep scalp wounds, which resulted

(41:46):
in multiple lacerations and fractures of herface and skull. He went on to
note that Sigared's nose and two ribshad been broken, and that she had
bruising on her chest and elbow.This scene to suggest that after Sigrid fell
to the floor, the killer likelycontinued assaulting her in the chest and head

(42:06):
areas, and that she may havesustained additional wounds trying to protect herself.
Hoping for some insight into Sigrid herlife or anyone who may have wanted to
harm her and what led up toher death. Police began interviewing friends and
classmates, both in New Jersey andback in California. Unfortunately, for the
most part, no one was ableto offer much insight into Sigrid's life nor

(42:30):
who she may have been hanging aroundwith, if anyone, around the time
of her murder. Doctor Austin,who knew her well, told police that
Sigrid had never expressed to him anyconcern for her personal safety or security while
she was on campus. Police thenmoved on to questioning people who had attended

(42:51):
the play JB on Saturday night,as well as the sixteen members of the
cast. While multiple people reported seeingSigrid at the play that night and hearing
her discussing that she was spending thenight in Kendall Hall, no one was
able to offer much beyond that.However, there was one man who claimed
he might be able to provide greatinsight into the case. His name was

(43:14):
Sidney Porcelain, and at the timehe was somewhat famous for his claims to
possess psychic powers. Not only didhe claim to be a psychic, he
taught courses on utilizing extrasensory perception andhad discussed cases with police in the past.
Porcelin, who had participated in theplay JB, not only confirmed to

(43:36):
authorities that he was president at theplay that night, but he also claimed
to have known Sigrid slightly. Helater told The Trenton Times he had met
Sigrid in July during play rehearsals whenhe saw her playing the piano in Kendall
Hall. Porcelin went on to tellthe Times that he had been impressed with
Sigrid's playing and asked her if she'dbe interested in performing the music for some

(43:59):
songs he'd and while she agreed,she later went on vacation and the two
didn't see each other again until thefinal performance of the play the night before
she was found dead. Porcelain askedwhat type of person Sigarette was told the
Trenton Times quote she was effusively friendly. She indiscriminately told her business to everybody.

(44:21):
You could see how she could easilybe taken advantage of. She was
the natural victim type end quote.Now, despite the fact that police initially
brought Porcelain in for questioning as apotential person of interest since he was one
of the last people to see her, alive. He apparently provided a strong
enough alibi that their questioning slowly turnedinto a series of psychic parlor tricks.

(44:45):
Porcelain asked to touch some of Sigred'spossessions so he could see what vibrations his
word, not mine, he couldpick up on, and they actually handed
him her backpack. I'm not kidding. They allowed this guy to touch some
of the only evidence in this case. Allegedly, though he had no knowledge

(45:06):
of the murder, despite it beingsplashed all over the headlines and him directly
knowing the victim, he got vibrationsthat Sigrid had been violently beaten on both
sides of her head. He wenton to say that the letter S was
coming to him strongly, though henoted he couldn't be sure if the suspects
name began with S or if theS just stood for Sigrid. He claimed

(45:30):
the killer was someone who worked withwire and went on to say he had
a premonition on the day of themurder, but didn't know what it meant
at the time. Apparently, innineteen seventy seven, police took this garbage
seriously, though they didn't possess theknowledge of how many of Porcelain's alleged psychic
claims throughout his life would turn outto be bunk some sharp detectives. One

(45:54):
prominent example comes from a nineteen seventysix interview with Porcelain about the fit of
John List, who five years earlierhad brutally murdered his wife, mother,
and three children before disappearing. Porcelainproclaimed that List had been killed and there
would be no justice served. YetJohn List was identified, arrested, and

(46:15):
jailed in June of nineteen eighty nine. I should note in that same article
one of the case investigators said hewould have been really impressed with Porcelain as
a psychic if not for the factthat for every detail he got right,
he got a different one wrong.Despite all of this, police were adamant
that Porcelain had a solid alibi forthe entire twenty four hours following the ending

(46:38):
of the play at twelve thirty am, meaning he couldn't possibly have been involved.
Personally, I'm not so convinced,but I think it's become clear over
the years how much I detest thesealleged psychics. Other people interviewed by investigators
included the firefighter that sigarette had stayedwith for part of August, though police

(46:59):
have named this man nor commented onhis relationship to the victim, nor what
has alibi for the time of thecrime may or may not have been.
Another curious subject police question was aformer member of campus security who was alleged
to have known Sigared and to havehad a friendly relationship with her, Much
like the fireman. There is nomention of this person's name, nor any

(47:21):
information provided publicly about what he mayor may not have had to offer during
questioning. While neither of these menhas ever been identified, it does appear
clear that neither has ever been officiallyruled out either. Nearly three thousand miles
away, back in Livermore, California, Sigared's parents returned from a holiday trip

(47:43):
to learn the horrible news about theirfirstborn child. Utterly heartbroken, the family
kept their feelings on the murder andthe loss of their daughter to themselves,
never speaking publicly, giving interviews,or discussing it at all. The couple
made a ringements and arrived in NewJersey on Friday, September ninth. A

(48:04):
memorial service was held for Sigrid atthe Nassau Presbyterian church, where she had
previously sung in the choir. Shewas laid to rest in Princeton Cemetery following
a service from the Reverend Doctor WallaceAlston. She lies beneath the simple marker
reading only Sigrid M. Stevenson nineteenfifty two to nineteen seventy seven. While

(48:28):
Sigrid's family struggled to accept the bittergrip of their new reality, little was
done to honor her memory in eitherthe community of Livermore or Trenton State College.
An entry was placed in the schoolyearbook, but it was less than
one hundred words and her name wasmisspelled. A Sigrid Stevenson Memorial Scholarship Fund

(48:49):
was set up by students and facultyat the university, but doesn't appear to
exist anymore. As years have wornon, Trenton State changed much, but
it never fully acknowledged the horrors thatSIGRed experienced, nor has any memorial plaque
or statue, or bench or treebeen erected in her honor. In fact,
the university didn't really do much ofanything major In response to the murder.

(49:13):
Clayton Brower, then president of thecollege, stated that they had no
intention of enlarging the school's security personnel, but ultimately they did add a few
new officers. They also installed newlights on the grounds and in the parking
lots, and while it isn't mentioned, I certainly hope they fixed the locks
at Kendall Hall. In addition tothis, they printed up a guide which

(49:36):
would be handed out to all studentsarriving for the beginning of the semester.
This guide, entitled ten Steps toSecure Living, provided such luminous pieces of
advice such as lock your door whentaking a nap and lock your door even
if you will only be gone afew minutes. I find these statements somewhat

(49:57):
ironic, if not darkly comedic,if the reliability of their dorm room locks
bore any similarity to the useless oneson the doors at Kendall Hall. Many
who have examined this case have madenote of the lack's response from the university,
and while I completely agree it wassomewhat assign of the times. A
college then, like today, isa business, and the school really didn't

(50:21):
want to do much to draw attentionto the murder, as that might hurt
the bottom line. At the sametime, it's worth pointing your attention towards
the Cleary Act. Jean Cleary wasa freshman at Lehigh University in nineteen eighty
six who was raped and murdered inher dorm room. Her parents felt that
the school had failed to provide adequatestatistics about the state of crime on the

(50:44):
campus, which had been rising foryears. In the three years prior to
Jean's arrival, there were thirty sevenviolent crimes on campus, but the vast
majority of crime was severely underreported bythe administration. The past in nineteen ninety
requires all universities to keep and makeavailable information about crime, both on campus

(51:07):
and in the surrounding area. Itfurther requires the schools to provide three years
of crime data to all prospective studentsand employees. Furthermore, universities are required
to provide a crime log kept bycampus police of all crimes reported to them
or that they become aware of.Institutions are required to give warnings when crimes

(51:30):
occur, and must report violent crimesas well as what if any disciplinary actions
were taken by the school. Yousee, for many years, universities weren't
all that focused on reporting crimes oraiding law enforcement in their investigations for fear
of casting a pall over their academicenvironments and perhaps seeing a drop in enrollments.

(51:52):
While I can't say with any certaintythat this is why Sigrid's murder was
downplayed, it's hard to see anyother reasons and to not warn students of
potential assaults. In fact, therewas another assault similar to Sigrides the same
day her parents arrived in the stateof New Jersey. On Friday, September

(52:13):
ninth, five days after Cigarette's bodywas found, a student returned to her
room in the Wolf Tower's dormitory atapproximately to twelve am. Upon arriving,
she found a light on in herroom and then saw an unknown man inside.
The man, who identified himself asCharlie, chased the student out of
the room and down the hall beforehe cornered her and exposed himself to her.

(52:38):
When she screamed, he started violentlybeating her until doors began opening and
he fled the scene. She describedher assailant as a black male with short
hair, standing five feet nine inchesand wearing a dark blue Trenton State College
T shirt. Whether or not thisman was ever captured, I can't say,

(52:58):
because coverage of the isalt was extremelylimited. However, investigators would later
state that they didn't see any similaritiesbetween this crime and secreds. I mean,
what could possibly be similar? Bothcrimes occurred on campus, both crimes
involved nudity and sexual undertones, andboth crimes involved a female student being violently

(53:19):
attacked. Clearly, it's unrelated.Inside of two weeks following Sigrid's murder,
the investigation was already growing quiet.Police were fairly direct with the media,
saying that not only had they obtainedvery little evidence, they had no particular
persons of interest to close in on. Lieutenant Shaler of the Ewing Police Department

(53:40):
would tell the Trenton Times, quote, we have no hard factual motive.
No single person is being zeroed inon. End quote. The last seemingly
major activity undertaken by investigators in thiscase that just can't fit into the category
of interviewing people came on Wednesday,September twenty first, two weeks after Secret

(54:05):
was killed. There are two lakeson the campus of Trenton State, these
being Lake Siva and Lake Silva.Silva is located approximately twelve hundred feet east
from the rear entrance of Kendall Hall. Siva is right around five hundred feet
north of Kendall Hall. On Wednesday, the twenty first, the New Jersey
State Police's four man underwater Recovery Unitentered Lake Siva and conducted a six hour

(54:31):
search, and while they would notpublicly state what they were looking for,
Our Thomas Hageman noted that they wereseeking out a potential murder weapon. Siva
is a six acre man made lakeand in nineteen seventy seven had a depth
of approximately eight to ten feet.The search, which focused only on the

(54:52):
side of the lake nearest to KendallHall, ultimately resulted in no evidence being
recovered. When asked why they haddecided to search the lake and not the
other lake, police declined to comment. A student who watched the search told
reporters that all he saw the policepull up from beneath the water was junk
beer bottles, hubcaps, safety cones, and even a set of car stereo

(55:15):
speakers, but nothing which fit theextremely vague murder weapon description of blunt instrument.
At this point, the investigation prettymuch ground to a standstill. Lieutenant
Schaler noted that they had compared Sigared'smurder to every murder of a woman across
the country and could find not onecase which was similar. And that's pretty

(55:37):
much how it has stayed. Oneyear later, in nineteen seventy eight,
investigators noted that while they had conductedmore than one hundred interviews, they hadn't
discovered any new evidence or information.Not yet had anyone been labeled a suspect
or person of interest. The nextyear, in nineteen seventy nine, the

(55:59):
Ewing Township Police Department issued a statementthrough a spokesperson about the depth and force
of their investigation. It read,in part, quote, the investigation is
still open. We talked to abouttwo persons a week in this investigation.
We've interviewed hundreds of persons, somemore than once. We've also given several

(56:21):
persons polygraph tests. Whenever there isa similar murder anywhere in the country,
we check with the homicide detectives investigatingthat case to see if there are any
links between the two. That's howfar we're going to work on this case.
End quote. Still no suspect,no person of interest. That's how

(56:42):
it was throughout the end of thenineteen seventies and much of the early nineteen
eighties. Police seemingly stopped discussing thecase, and reporters found new horrors to
astound their readers. With following nineteeneighty three, it's almost as if this
case and Cigarette herself had never existed. In twenty fourteen, Kathlyn Petrucci of

(57:04):
the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office told NewJersey dot Com that they had revisited the
case several times over the years,but quote, there has been no new
evidence and there is nothing investigators canfollow up on end quote. As years
have gone on, much has changed. Trenton State College saw much of his
campus altered, old buildings torn down, new ones erected. Even its name

(57:30):
wasn't safe from alteration. Known todayas the College of New Jersey, Kendall
Hall still stands, though memories ofSigrid and her murder faded out as students
and faculty moved on from the school. For decades, SIGRed existed only as
the nameless source alleged to be behinda series of hauntings in the building where

(57:51):
her life was taken. Rumors aboundedabout the student who was strangled with piano
wire, the woman who was brutallymurdered by her boyfriend hung from the rafters
above the stage. When you cutthrough all of the rumors in legend,
the myth, and alleged ghosts,what you find is a tragic story that
doesn't need a supernatural aspect to beworthy of memory and investigation. Instead,

(58:15):
it's an open and unsolved case,the story of a talented, kind,
and adventurous young woman whose life wascut short and for whom justice has never
been served. She is remembered notfor the way that she lived, but
the manner in which she was killedand in place of a daughter and sister
is a banshee or poltergeist. Forsome, it's far easier to believe in

(58:38):
spirits and specters haunting old buildings thanit is to accept that some murderers get
away with it and some victims arepurposefully forgotten. Timothy Grant, captain of
the College of New Jersey's campus police, refuses to allow this case to close
or for Sigred's name to be forgottenabout her nearly fifty years after her murder,

(59:02):
he replied, quote the inquiry intoSecred Stephens's murder remains an enduring appeal
as we continue to examine the caseusing state of the art approaches. Some
prayers should not end with ahmen,but be left open as a plea.
SIGRed Stephenson's legacy is not the reductivecliches concerning ghost stories that are fueled by

(59:25):
inaccurate accounts of her life and thetragedy of her ending. She is an
influential part of the College of NewJersey's student lineage who moved through Trenton State
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the life and murder of Sigrid Stevenson, you're quickly met by a lot of

(01:02:05):
walls and dead ends that refuse toyield any light. We can learn about
what she loved, the type ofperson she was, what she dreamed of
in some of what she did,but it does little to give up any
real knowledge of who she was inher heart of hearts. Her family never
spoke about the murder, choosing toexperience their grief and pain in private,

(01:02:25):
while law enforcement never had much tosay at all. They could tell you
what they knew, what they'd seen, and what they'd found, but it
didn't add up to much beyond whatwe've already covered here that a unique and
talented young woman was murdered seemingly needlesslywhile doing the one thing she loved most,
playing the piano. This is anextremely difficult case to analyze, in

(01:02:50):
part because it's filled with contradictions andinaccurate information. Was SIGRed bound when she
was found, Well, that dependswho you ask. Did she have a
shirt wrapped around her head or wasit a scarf or was there nothing at
all? Again, that all dependson which source you consider the most credible,
and in fairness, there's a lotof sources out there. Dozens of

(01:03:12):
articles were written in the weeks afterSigred's murder and hundreds in the nearly five
decades since. In more recent times, countless podcasts have put together their own
coverage of this case, though forthe most part their research and grasp of
facts has been limited at best andpurposefully inaccurate at worst. Whether you're a
former reporter, an independent researcher,or a professor of criminal justice, you

(01:03:37):
should at least ensure your coverage meetsthe basic standards of fact. Looking at
the case, the sheer lack ofevidence seems to be the primary reason it's
never been solved. According to investigatorsat the scene, the suspect left behind
nothing that would aid in identifying him. No fingerprints, footprints, hair or

(01:03:57):
fiber. Nothing was found that couldhelp in determining who may have been responsible.
What evidence was recovered didn't appear atthe time to offer up much in
regards to an answer or solution.The only items police have really mentioned was
the white piano cover that had beendraped over Sigarede's body. Do police still
possess that cover, could it beopen to testing with new technology, or

(01:04:21):
has it been destroyed, lost,or misplaced. My only attempt to obtain
these answers led me only to deadends. What about the victim herself?
An autopsy was performed which confirmed thecause of death and that the victim had
not been sexually assaulted, But wasanything else gleaned from the process. Was

(01:04:41):
there any evidence on her body?Did they take samples from beneath her fingernails?
Were their defensive wounds or signs thatshe might have fought back again?
These are all pertinent questions that neithercampus police nor the Ewing Township police have
ever answered. I can see whythe case is so hard to solve.
It doesn't so like they managed topick up any evidence outside of Secret's body,

(01:05:02):
the piano cover, and her backpack. There's never been any discussion about
a potential murder weapon. They justcall it a blunt instrument, but was
there no methodology available to them atthe time to determine the difference between it
being a nightstick, a block ofwood, a golf club, or a
tire iron. To date, therehas never been anything said about what the

(01:05:25):
murder weapon might be, which essentiallymeans it could have been anything. Then
there are the ligature marks on secretswrists. Now ignoring the seemingly flawed reporting
of her having been found with herwrist bound behind her back. I find
it hard to believe that the markson her wrists were of such a difficult
to discern shape and nature that policewere unable to rule anything in or ount.

(01:05:47):
Apparently, the marks left on theskin by a pair of handcuffs are
too similar to those left by arope or a wire, or a chain
or a belt. There's a bigpart of me that debates back and forth
how much of this case remaining unsolvedis the result of no evidence or innocently
poor police work, or purposefully poorpolice work. Remember, the only group

(01:06:13):
of people who have ever been allegedto have possibly been involved were campus police
and campus security. But we'll getinto that later. I could keep going
on and on with different examples,but analyzing this case is like trying to
solve a crossword puzzle without any clues. Sure, a lot of different answers
might fit into the boxes, butthat doesn't mean you're right. So what

(01:06:33):
do we know with any level ofcertainty? Well, a few different things.
We know that Sigrid was known tospend nights in Kendall Hall, even
in the prior semester when she hada dorm room. She could go back
to Apparently, this wasn't all thatuncommon, and even campus law enforcement made
references to the fact that at differenttimes students had been known to stay in

(01:06:56):
the building overnight. We know fromCigared's own journaling trees that she had been
caught in the building after hours previouslyand had been told she wasn't allowed there.
She knew it so well that sheremarked in what is believed to be
her final journal entry that she hadto be out of the building before eleven
am, when the guard would makehis rounds. According to cast members from

(01:07:17):
the play, they left Kendall Hallat approximately twelve thirty am on the morning
of September fourth, twenty three hoursbefore Cigarette's body would be found. In
their statements, they confirmed that asfar as they knew, the building was
locked up. Now we know KendallHall couldn't properly be secured because of the
broken set of doors. Whether ornot anyone in the play knew that is

(01:07:40):
hard to say, but different studentsconfirmed that it was basically an open secret
on campus. According to stats providedby the university, it was believed around
fifty students and staff were present thatweekend. If you factor in the sixteen
cast members and the thirty or soaudience members. Now your number increases to
ninety six. Then you add inthe twelve armed police and seven security guards,

(01:08:03):
which round your numbers out to onepoint fifteen. Now, to be
fair, you're likely looking at anywherebetween ninety and one hundred and ten people
being on campus at different times thatweekend. A timeline would be extremely helpful
in narrowing down possibilities, But yetagain we hit a dead end since there
has never been any information released regardinghow long Cigarette was believed to have been

(01:08:27):
dead when she was found at eleventhirty pm. Was Cigarette killed ten minutes
or ten hours before she was found? Again, this is not a question
we have the answer to, butit sure would be nice. Why exactly
they didn't release that information under theassumption that they actually know it is mind
blowing to me. Experienced officers walkinginto the scene should have been able to

(01:08:51):
make some basic guesses before the medicalexaminer even perform the autopsy. Was the
blood spatter on the music sheets dryor what was the massive puddle of blood
on the stage coagulated or had thatprocess only begun recently? Taking into account
temperature, weather, and humidity.At a minimum, law enforcement should have

(01:09:11):
been able to make a remotely accurateguess about a potential time of death.
Right now, all we know isit happened somewhere in a twenty three hour
window of time, and that reallydoesn't help anything. I don't know if
it was because it was nineteen seventyseven, or if it was because it
happened on a college campus, orany of the other innumerable factors which may

(01:09:33):
or may not have led to apiss poor investigation. But the way in
which this case was handled is itbest embarrassing and at worst a textbook example
of how not to investigate a murderor examine a crime scene. Maybe I'm
being too harsh. That's certainly somethingworth considering, but I've covered more than
two hundred cases on this podcast,and I've rarely seen things so mismanaged.

(01:09:56):
In the vast majority of situations,this is why cases go unsolved. It's
not because the killer was some evilgenius. It's not because it was well
planned and executed. But generally,it's because the early part of the investigation
is substandard. We've all heard abouthow important the first forty eight hours are,
But if you're working the case wrongfrom the start. You've already lost

(01:10:20):
it before that first hour passes,let alone the other forty seven. So,
based upon theories of investigators, Sigridwas playing the piano when her unknown
killer came up behind her and beganraining down vicious blows with a blunt instrument.
Based upon the blood trail and bruisingand wounds to Sigared's elbow and ribs,

(01:10:41):
it sounds like she fell backwards offthe bench and the killer continued hammering
her until he believed her to bedead. Now, either before he struck
or immediately after, he apparently tookone of her shirts and wrapped it around
her head. The police theorized thismight have been done to muffle her screams,
But given this murder took place ona stage where the victim played piano

(01:11:02):
into all hours of the night whileconsciously trying to avoid being caught by campus
security, that doesn't really make alot of sense to me. If people
outside aren't going to hear the pianobeing played, why would they hear the
screams, unless, of course,this crime was committed when other people were
in the building. But I findit hard to believe any T shirt would

(01:11:24):
have muffled any of those screams.So then there lies this possibility that the
killer's active covering cigarette's head wasn't tomuffle screams, but perhaps, as we
often see, it might have beena sign of shame. Sometimes it allows
a killer to not acknowledge what they'vedone, as with the head covered,
the victim still looks human and possiblyalive. But in this case we also

(01:11:47):
have the piano cover, the onepiece of evidence in this case that really
amps up the confusion and mystery.If you've already covered the victim's head,
why do you also need to coverher whole body. Surely a killer isn't
going to feel uncomfortable about her beingnude. Or maybe the victim's nudity had
something to do with the crime,jealousy, maybe desire, or perhaps something

(01:12:12):
else. We still have no wayof knowing if Sigrid was nude by choice
or if she had been forced tostrip. I know it sounds odd,
but from what we've been told,Sigrid was a very unique individual and it's
not out of the realm of possibilitythat she may have played in the nude
especially down in Kendall Hall after hours, where presumably she wasn't expecting anyone to

(01:12:33):
show up. The nudity is oneof the more confusing aspects of this case,
and it either plays an important roleor it is essentially a red herring.
Sadly, with as little information aswe actually have about the crime,
it gets perhaps more attention than necessarybecause there's so little else to examine.

(01:12:55):
The autopsy would determine that Sigrid hadnot been physically sexually assaulted. Ordering someone
to strip down under the thread ofbeating them to death would certainly qualify as
sexual assault. I think we justdon't have any way of knowing either way.
Now. There's been a lot oftalk about the two by four that
might have been used to balance thepiano or might have been used to prop

(01:13:15):
the lid open. Reportedly, itwasn't found at the scene and has never
been located. If the police theoryis accurate that Sigrid was playing the piano
when she was attacked, then howcould that piece be the murder weapon.
Surely someone who took piano as seriouslyas she did wasn't going to be banging
away on the keys overnight in abuilding she's not supposed to be in while

(01:13:38):
it's terribly unbalanced, or the lidcan't be held open. If the two
by four was the murder weapon,which is really impossible to prove now,
this would suggest that the crime wasmore spur of the moment, with the
killer using what was available to them. At the same time, I don't
see how they could get the twoby four without Sigrid noticing, unless they

(01:13:59):
were on that stage before she arrivedand were waiting for her. A possibility,
but again nothing conclusive. One thingI'd like to address for a moment
is the manner in which Cigared waskilled. I keep seeing a lot of
theories and articles suggesting that the crimehad to have been personal because the killer
targeted the face and quote unquote destroyedher identity. While I can't say whether

(01:14:24):
or not the crime was personal,I would like to at least suggest that
if you're planning to kill someone bybeating them over the head with a blunt
object, I can't imagine it's easyto do so without destroying or severely damaging
the face. Sometimes a cigar isa cigar. Moving back to the bloody
scene, if there was blood allover the stage and splattered everywhere, and

(01:14:47):
it was this huge mess. Itseems to suggest that the killer would have
gotten blood on him or herself,yet there's no report of blood being found
anywhere else in the building. Assumingthey actually looked for it, this would
have been an extremely grisly murder wherethe killer is raining down successive blows with
blood spatter flying through the air.After the murder, this person walks around

(01:15:10):
the stage, grabs the piano coverand drapes it over the body. They
don't leave any bloody footprints, fingerprints, or handprints. They don't leave a
trail of blood behind them as theyexit the building. They don't accidentally bump
into a wall or door frame wherethey might transfer a small spot of blood.
This person or person leaves behind absolutelynothing, which at least in my

(01:15:32):
perspective, comes down to three distinctpossibilities. The killer was incredibly lucky,
or the terrible investigation missed other evidence. Or the killer planned this and knew
exactly what they were doing. Weknow that the piano cover had been in
Bray Hall behind two locked doors atleast two weeks prior to the murder.

(01:15:54):
We also know that cigarette had gonehitchhiking and returned to campus on Friday,
September two. Ray Hall was vastlymore secure than Kendall Hall. So if
someone were taking that piano cover,whether it was cigared, using it for
a blanket or a pillow, orthe killer planning to use it in the
crime, the window of time waslimited. Sigrid would have had to have

(01:16:15):
gotten it Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The killer, if they had been
planning this in advance, could havegotten it earlier, but given it was
just used to cover the body,I can't imagine the killer going out of
his way for it. Still,the question remains, how did someone get
it? Even if Bray Hall wasopen, the concert hall was locked and

(01:16:36):
students weren't allowed to just wander inthere, giving that it housed a ten
thousand dollars piano and other expensive instruments. To me, there's only two ways
someone got that piano cover. Eithersomeone with the keys needed to reach it
was involved in the murder, orsomeone who had a close relationship with someone

(01:16:56):
who had those keys was allowed totake it. Is it possible that Sigrid
may have had some kind of afriendship or more with a member of campus
security who knew she was staying inKendall Hall and looked the other way.
I don't think that can be completelyruled out. We know from the interviews
police did that Sigrid had previously hada friendly relationship with a security guard who

(01:17:17):
by the time of the murder wasno longer working there. Again, it's
one of those situations where there's noreal way of knowing which way it was,
which only adds to the frustration andheartbreak. So finally, let's turn
our attention towards possible suspects and seewhat makes sense and what doesn't. The

(01:17:38):
only potential suspect we know by nameis the so called psychic Sidney Porcelain.
Porceland tells police he knew SIGRed priorto the crime, that he'd interacted with
her previously, and that he sawher at the play the night before her
murder. He tells police details ofthe crime while claiming he is unaware of
it despite it being headline news.He describes the way in w which Sigurd

(01:18:00):
was killed, going so far asto say that most of the damage was
delivered to both sides of her face. Now, police have made it clear
that Porcelin had a solid alibi forthe twenty four hours leading up to and
following the crime, so they rulehim out for some reason. At that
point, they allow this charlatan toput his hands on some of the only
evidence they have so he can tryand read some vibrations. Yeah, that

(01:18:21):
worked out real well for everyone.Now, what if you'd found evidence that
his alibi wasn't solid. But sinceyou let him touch the evidence, you've
got nothing to really use against him, because any defense lawyer could argue he
only touched the items when you allowedhim to. Personally, I don't think
Porcelain was the killer. The guywas sixty six years old at the time

(01:18:42):
and not in the greatest shape.That's not to say he couldn't bludgeon an
unsuspected woman to death, but itseems somewhat improbable. At the same time,
these alleged psychics do love getting involvedwith investigations, so I tend to
view Porcelain more as a guy whowanted attention and thought he had some kind
of magic powers. Knocking Porcelain outof the picture, we get down to

(01:19:03):
nameless people. We can't say muchabout the two that immediately come to mind,
or the firefighter Sigared apparently stayed withprior to her hitchhiking trip, and
the former security guard who she wasfriendly with. When it comes to the
firefighter, there's not much that canbe said. We don't know his name,
his description, his location, hisrelationship to the victim, where he

(01:19:24):
was that night, or if hehad ever been on the campus before,
let alone was he knowledgeable about KendallHall. He could be a good suspect,
but without something more, we reallycan't analyze anything in relation to him.
Looking at the former security guard,there's not a lot more there.
We know nothing about this person,much like the firefighter, aside from two

(01:19:45):
details that he knew Sigrid and thathe knew the campus. Beyond that,
we know that while he worked there, he would have possessed the keys to
Kendall and Bray Hall, as wellas the concert hall. He was described
does a former guard. I'd bevery interested to know when and why he
had stopped working there. Regardless though, this is a good potential suspect.

(01:20:09):
He knows the layout of the campus, he knows the layout of the buildings,
he knows Sigrid, and he maybe aware that she often spends nights
in Kendall Hall. The only thingthat we can't make a connection to is
did he know she was there thatnight unless you can establish some kind of
communication between him and Sigared or himand someone else that was aware to kind

(01:20:30):
of at a loss, could hehave wandered onto campus to check it out
and see maybe could she have toldhim when she'd be back? As possible
As a former guard, it's entirelypossible that he had copied some of the
keys that would have made it realeasy for him, But there's just no
way of knowing. As an aside, I'd be really interested to know what

(01:20:51):
that guy's interview with police was like. Moving away from him, I want
to take a moment to bring upthe alleged Charlie. You remember the guy
who attacked another student on campus thesame week this murder happened. Sigrid was
found dead on a Sunday night,and Charlie shows up in the Wolf Tower
dorms, approximately fourteen hundred feet southeastfrom Kendall Hall. According to the report,

(01:21:16):
the man was waiting in a femalestudent's dorm room, chased her into
the hallway, exposed himself to her, and when she screamed he began beating
her until he was scared off.I don't mean to be a jerk about
it, but how in the hellcan police say they see no similarities between
this attack and Cigarette's murder? Imean, does the guy have to actually

(01:21:36):
beat her to death for them toconsider it similar I wish we could pursue
this suspect a little more. Iwish we had anything beyond the name Charlie.
But I can't even tell you ifhe was ever caught or if there
were more assaults. Remember, schoolsdidn't consider it a positive to publicly disclose
crimes on their campuses, so it'sentirely possible he had been around before or

(01:21:59):
after, and we simply don't knowabout it. I just find it unconscionable
to rule this out sight unseen.When this attack happens less than five days
after Sigarette is killed. Both attacksapparently happen at night, both happen to
have a sexual aspect to them,both involve a man beating a woman,
and the two scenes are less thanfifteen hundred feet apart. The suspect was

(01:22:25):
apparently wearing a Trenton State College Tshirt at the time, which would suggest
he has some connection to the school, which could include at least a rudimentary
knowledge of different buildings in their layouts. Might he have been one of the
students who knew Kendall Hall was easilyaccessible regardless of locks. There's no way
of knowing. Sort of feels likea missed possibility there, And while it's

(01:22:47):
possible police cleared this suspect through theirinvestigation, I don't feel inclined to lend
them any benefit of the doubt here. Finally, there are the campus police
and Campus Security d twelve police officersarmed with guns, night sticks, and
handcuffs, and then seven security officerswith only cuffs and nightsticks. From the

(01:23:09):
beginning, it feels like everything kindof points towards a current or former member
of one of these groups. Policelaid it out pretty plainly. The killer
knew how to get into the buildingor had keys to it. The killer
knew the layout and possessed the physicalprowess necessary to crush secret skull. The
killer managed to pull the crime offwithout anyone being the wiser and escaped without

(01:23:30):
being seen. Lieutenant Schaler was soconcerned about this he ordered all campus police
security and even his own patrol officersto submit their night sticks and handcuffs for
examination. When none of those itemscould be connected to the crime, they
started going diving into lakes. Thesecampus police and security officers represent the only

(01:23:53):
group that seems to check all theboxes police have set up for the investigation
knowledge of the school. They holdsome level of authority over the students and
wouldn't necessarily be recognized as potential threats. Quite the opposite. In fact,
they have keys to all of thebuildings. They carry weapons on them,
including night sticks, which could certainlyfit into the category of a blunt instrument,

(01:24:15):
though, as former Assistant Prosecutor PaulOgara pointed out, a lot of
different objects fit that description. There'sa lot of information that could be helpful
here, mostly who was working thatweekend, Where were they assigned? Did
anyone see them around campus in thetwenty three hours leading up to the discovery
of the body? If so,where did any of them have a connection

(01:24:38):
to Sigared? Had any of themthreatened students or expressed violence previously? These
are all pertinent questions that we don'thave answers to. I truly hope investigators
really dug deep into all members ofcampus police and security guards, including former
employees who might hold a grudge.We know hundreds of interviews were done and

(01:24:58):
several people were given, but wealso know from Lieutenant Schaler that some of
the people they wanted to interview refuseto speak with them, though they've never
been named, nor has any furtherinformation been given. Is it possible that
they had a person of interest whocould never nail down the evidence they needed.
Maybe, but it really sounds likethey had nothing from the get go

(01:25:19):
and never managed to develop anything else. There's simultaneously so much to sort through
here, but almost nothing to narrowthe field. You've essentially got a suspect
pool of absolutely anyone who was presenton the campus between the final performance of
JB at around eight pm on Septemberthird and the discovery of Sigared's body at

(01:25:42):
approximately eleven thirty pm on September fourth, Students, teachers, locals, hell.
For all we know, Sigrid invitedsomeone to hang out with her that
night and it all went wrong,even though that doesn't really sound like her
style. A potential suitor, anothermusic major jealous of her abilities, or
perhaps a security guard who was sickand damn tired, of telling this student

(01:26:04):
to stay out of Kendall Hall afterhours. Without more information, it's nearly
impossible to determine anything. This yearwill mark forty seven years since Sigrid Stevenson
was brutally and violently beaten to deathon the stage of Kendall Hall. The
investigation, by all accounts, appearsto still be frozen back in nineteen seventy

(01:26:27):
seven, as there have never beenany new developments, any new evidence,
any anything. Instead, the caseis hardly discussed in What files exist are
in a binder or a box somewherein a cold case file amongst countless other
unsolved homicides from the Garden State.Sigrid Stevenson's future was stolen from her that

(01:26:48):
night, and nearly five decades later, no one has managed to provide even
the most basic of answers as towhy or who. Unfortunately, unless someone
comes forward, new evidence is discovered, or there's an outright confession, the
murder of Sigrid Stephenson will remain open, unsolved, and ice cold. If

(01:27:20):
you're looking for more information about themurder of Sigrid Stevenson, there are many
websites, forums, newspapers and podcaststhat have covered her case. Those sorting
fact from fiction can be difficult.For this episode, the most helpful and
reliable sources were the Trenton Times,the Courier Post, and the Daily Record.

(01:27:42):
If you have any information about themurder of Sigrid Stephenson, please contact
the Ewing Township Police Department at sixzero nine eight eight two one three one
three. You can also contact theNew Jersey State Police Polease at six zero
nine eight eight two to zero zerozero. You can also contact Mercer County

(01:28:10):
Crime Stoppers at one eight hundred fiveeight two two seven six' two or
by visiting their website at Mercercounty dotcrimestoppers web dot com. What do you
believe happened? Tweet me at Tracevpod, email me at trace Evidencepod at gmail

(01:28:30):
dot com, or comment in theFacebook group. Just a quick reminder,
if you're planning to attend crime Conthis year in Nashville from May thirty first
through June second, use promo codetrace at crimecon dot com to save ten
percent on your pass. That's promocode trace at Crimecon dot com. Now

(01:28:51):
I'd like to take a moment tothank our amazing Patreon producers, without whom
Trace evidence would not be possible.A massive thank you to Andrew Guarino,
An m Bertram, Camellia Tyler,Christine Greco, Danny Renee, Denise Dingsdale,

(01:29:14):
Desiree, Laura, Donna Buttram,Deanni Dyson, Jennifer Winkler, Justin
Snyder, Caraen Morland, k YLars Jensen, Vangel leslie B, Lisa
Hopson, Madison La Julier, MelissaBrakhuisen, Nick Mohar, Sheers, Roberta

(01:29:40):
Janssen, Ruth Stacy Finnegan, StephanieJoyner, Tom Radford and wend Oregon.
I want to thank you all somuch for your support. It means the
world to me and you are trulythe lifeblood of this podcast. If you're
interested in supporting the show and listeningto your episode's ad free, please visit

(01:30:02):
Patreon dot com, slash trace Evidence, or click the support option on the
official website at trace Dashevidence dot com. This concludes our look into the tragic
murder of Sigrid Stevenson. While thecase may be approaching fifty years cold,
We've seen so many cases previously thoughtto be unsolvable broken these last few years,

(01:30:26):
and I truly hope Sigreds will beone of them. Before letting you
go, I just want to welcomeyou to another year of Trace Evidence.
I know twenty twenty three was abumpy ride for the podcast, but I'm
focused and determined to ensure twenty twentyfour is the greatest year ever. And
yes, I am aiming to beback to a new episode every week.

(01:30:48):
So once again, thank you allso much for listening, and I hope
you'll join me next week for anotherunsolved case on the next episode of Trace
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235 - The Murder of Sigrid Stevenson

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}235 - The Murder of Sigrid Stevenson