Katharina Buczek
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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