Maine man arrested in Alaska cold case contests extradition

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A Maine man charged with killing a woman 26 years ago in Alaska is contesting extradition.

Steven Downs, of Auburn, Maine, made his intentions known in the first court appearance since his Friday arrest. A judge on Tuesday ordered him held without bail pending another hearing next month.

Alaska authorities charged Downs in the 1993 sexual assault and killing of 20-year-old Sophie Sergie, whose body was found in a dorm bathtub at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The 44-year-old Downs was a university student at the time. Sergie was a former student.

Alaska police zeroed in on Downs after DNA submitted by his aunt on a genealogical website was linked to DNA from the crime scene.