By Lake DiStefano
Arts & Entertainment Editor
The College was recently featured in a documentary series on Netflix called “Unsolved Mysteries.” The episode, “Murder, Center Stage,” covers the death of Sigrid Stevenson, a music education major who was found dead on campus in 1977. Filming took place on campus, and many recognizable sites are present in the episode.
Kendall Hall, the site of the murder, is featured most heavily. Shots of the hall highlight the eerie atmosphere the old building can have given its dark history.
Stevenson was 25 years old when she was found dead on the stage of the auditorium in Kendall Hall. Her body was found near the piano on stage, wrapped in a piano-blanket.
The mystery of the circumstances surrounding her untimely death have been speculated upon for many years now, and the episode makes it a point to compile what is currently known about the case. Interviews throughout the show provide insight from people who have been involved with this case for nearly five decades now.
Some of the individuals who were interviewed include Thomas Kokotajlo, a campus police officer working that night, and Scott Napolitano ‘06, an alum of the college and a former film-student who started compiling information from the case for his senior thesis where he had to make a short film based on a ghost story.
Stevenson had been staying in the hall — sneaking in on some nights and being let in on others — for a few days prior to her death, as she was waiting for classes to resume for the fall term. She had been playing the piano throughout the weekend, which makes the location of her corpse all the more sad and haunting.
Another aspect of the crime which has intrigued many is the lack of evidence present at the scene. There were no footprints or witnesses, and beyond the details surrounding the crime scene itself, the auditorium remained largely untainted.
As the title of the show implies, this is still a cold case, with investigations into a possible culprit remaining unfruitful. According to NJ.com, the case is under investigation by the state Attorney General’s Cold Case Network.
Due to the longevity of the case, there are few leads left for the investigation to mull over, but the filmmakers hope the release of the episode will encourage anyone who might have insight into the case to reconsider and remember any details that may be relevant. They hope to be able to provide some closure as to the specifics of her death some day.
The episode itself offers many possible theories about the crime, since there are still many details about the case that are uncertain.
The case has had many potential suspects, such as police officers and ex-boyfriends — each one having just enough evidence to make discrediting them impossible.
Ultimately, all suspects have some reason or another for why their involvement is improbable, and this pantheon of possible culprits is one of the things which has given the story a sense of folklore.
“Though her murder remains unsolved, she should not be unknown,” the College’s president Michael Bernstein, said in a TCNJ News article. “Sigrid was an extraordinarily talented member of the college community, we are committed to ensuring she is always remembered as such.”
According to the article, on the anniversary of her murder earlier this month, a bouquet of flowers appeared atop the steps of Kendall Hall. The note attached read: “For Sigrid Stevenson/The stage is forever your world/Rest in Peace./01/24/1952 – 09/04/1977.”
A piano room in the Music Building will be named in Stevenson’s honor later this fall.
For anyone curious as to more of the specifics surrounding the case, the episode is available to stream now on Netflix.
