In 1977, She Was Found Murdered On Her New Jersey College Campus, But Her Killer Has Remained At Large For Decades
Originally from Livermore, California, Sigrid Stevenson eventually moved to Princeton, New Jersey, after her father became a professor at the renowned Ivy League university.
By the time she was 25 years old in 1977, she was embarking on her own higher education pursuits – attending Trenton State College in hopes of earning a Master’s Degree in Music.
Described as a “quirky” young woman, Sigrid loved playing the piano and planned to become a music teacher. She had even hitchhiked to Canada in the summer of 1977 before school began again.
Yet, prior to classes officially starting, Sigrid was found brutally murdered inside a hall on campus.
It all began on September 4, 1977, when a campus security officer named Thomas Kokotajlo noticed a woman’s bike had been chained to a railing located outside Trenton State College’s Kendall Hall. This was perplexing, as classes had not yet resumed for the semester, and things were quiet on campus.
Thomas ultimately went inside to investigate and arrived in the hall’s theatre, where there appeared to be someone sleeping on the stage. However, upon closer inspection, he realized that a young woman – later identified as Sigrid Stevenson – had been killed.
It was uncovered that she’d returned to Trenton State on September 2, and at the time, there was a snag in her living arrangements. She was supposed to lodge with a local fireman’s family for the academic year, but her hosts had gone on vacation.
So, Sigrid decided that she’d sleep on a couch located in Kendall Hall until they arrived home. Tragically, she did not make it out alive.
The night before she was found murdered, a local theater group had put on a play in the theatre on September 3. Some of the actors later told investigators that they’d found Sigrid, along with her personal belongings, in the green room.
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She actually watched the performance and proceeded to talk to some of the group members during intermission.
Around that time, Sigrid was supposedly in positive spirits. But later, she reportedly got into an argument with an unknown man, leaving her in a bad mood.
Sigrid was last spotted by a cast member at about 11:30 p.m. Her whereabouts for the following hours remain unknown, and she was discovered dead less than one day later.
When the campus security officer found Sigrid’s remains, the scene was bloody. She was located underneath a white canvas tarpaulin that was typically used to cover a piano, leading authorities to believe she had been playing the instrument at the time she was killed.
Furthermore, investigators suspect that she was attacked from behind and subsequently assaulted, as she was found without clothes on.
Sigrid was repeatedly beaten with a blunt object and had lacerations and bruises on both her head and body. Additionally, there were ligature marks on her wrists, which may have been caused by handcuffs.
Even though there was a lot of blood left at the scene, no fingerprints or footprints were ever identified. This, coupled with the fact that no one has come forward with any information, has left Sigrid’s case unsolved for decades.
Despite her killer remaining at large, the tragic event that unfolded at Trenton State continues to haunt the campus community.
In the years since her death, students have claimed to have witnessed paranormal activity in Kendall Hall. Some have reportedly witnessed items – such as a roll of paper towels – hovering in the auditorium’s bathroom from one side to a trash can. Additionally, others have claimed to have heard footsteps or felt like someone was standing right behind them.
Whether or not Sigrid’s spirit still dwells on Trenton State grounds is cause for debate. Regardless, even all these years later, investigators hope that renewed interest in her murder will help generate new leads and allow her case to finally be closed.
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