FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Editor's note: The video above aired Jan. 14, 2022.
The attorney for an Auburn man convicted of murder in connection with the 1993 death of a woman is seeking a new trial.
Steven Downs' attorney, Franklin E. Spaulding, claims the prosecution engaged in "serious prosecutorial misconduct, perjured testimony, and other wrongful behavior" that justifies vacating or dismissing the conviction or granting a new trial.
Downs, 47, was convicted on Feb. 10 of the murder and sexual assault of 20-year-old Sophie Sergie at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Sergie's body was found in a dormitory bathroom, shot, choked, stabbed, and shocked with a stun gun, KTUU.com reported.
Police seized a .22 caliber rifle from Downs' Auburn home, but attorneys said the gun was not used to kill Sergie.
He was arrested in 2019 after DNA evidence linked him to the case.
In documents filed Feb. 14, Spaulding claims lead investigator Det. Randel McPherron gave perjured "brazen false testimony" under oath, including about a .22 pistol seized from Downs' home in Maine.
Spaulding also claimed the prosecutor argued during closing arguments that Downs lied to troopers who interrogated him, and he has probable cause to believe communications between Downs and his attorneys were illegally monitored.