Unsolved Mysteries has returned for a fourth series and the documentary series is fuelling our fascination with true crime. With the new episodes now available on Netflix, many viewers have questions about what happened to Sigrid Stevenson?
As Unsolved Mysteries returns to our screens, the docuseries is just as intriguing, compelling and heartbreaking as its previous installments.
Just like Homicide: Los Angeles and Worst Roommate Ever, each episode focusses on a new mystery with insights from those closest to it. As the title suggests, many of these remain frustratingly unsolved - even with many tantalising leads.
Viewers are just beginning to delve into the fourth season of Unsolved Mysteries and many have questions about the chilling case of Sigrid Stevenson.
What happened to Sigrid Stevenson?
Sigrid Stevenson was a university student, who was found dead on the the stage of her campus theatre. The case has remained unsolved for decades, with those who investigated the crime and fellow students still haunted by the murder.
Thomas Kokotajlo is one of many people whose life was shaped by the crime.
Now a retired police officer, he had been working at the Trenton State campus on the night Sigrid died.
Outside the Kendall Hall theatre, there had been no hint of what lay inside as the door had been locked and Sigrid’s bike was left chained up outside on.
Naturally, he went to investigate and presumed that there had been an intruder. Recalling the moment he discovered her, on September 4 1977, the now-retired officer said, "We weren’t expecting a busy night…No student calls, nothing like that."
He had only been a few years younger than the 25-year-old student. That night though, he found her body on the stage at Kendall Hall. In her final moments, she had lost a lot of blood and had ultimately died of a fractured skull.
Hundreds were questioned about Sigrid’s murder with many also undergoing polygraph tests in the months that followed. With no DNA testing though, the case went cold.
Decades on from the gruesome discovery, the case has remained unsolved.
Who were the suspects in the Sigrid Stevenson case?
During the Unsolved Mysteries episode covering the Sigrid Stevenson cas, two possible suspects were considered: a lighting technician and the campus janitor. However, no one has been formally charged for Sigrid’s murder.
Forty years on, the suspects have only just come to light after Ewing Police Detective Julia Caldwell reopened the cold case.
Having extensively researched the murder, she noted that those responsible would need knowledge of Kendall Hall and keys to the campus building.
Though both men fit this profile, a witness revealed that the lighting technician’s mood ‘changed drastically’ around the time of the murder. He also lied about having keys to Kendall Hall when questioned.
However, the janitor had frequently let Sigrid into the building - even after it had closed for the evening. His number and address were also found among Sigrid’s possessions, after her death.
Despite this, neither man has ever been charged in connection with the case.
