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New details emerge from cold case suspect's past

Steven Downs most recently worked as a nurse in the Auburn area. In 2016 he was issued a warning from the State of Maine Board of Nursing.

AUGUSTA, Maine — As Steven Downs awaits extradition to Alaska to face charges in connection to a 26-year-old cold case, NEWS CENTER Maine is learning new details about the Auburn man's past.

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Downs went to college in Alaska, the same college where the murder of Sophia Sergie occurred in 1993. According to court documents from Alaska, a DNA testing lab confirmed through public records he attended college at the University of Alaska Fairbanks at the same time of the killing.

After graduating, the now 44-year-old eventually moved back to Maine and worked as a nurse in the Auburn area.

According to a complaint filed with the State of Maine Board of Nursing in 2016, Downs received a warning for "engaging unprofessional conduct" and was ordered to complete a course in professional boundaries. 

The complaint also details incidents in February and March of 2016 in which he documented administering medications hours prior to administering the medications. In July, according to documents, Downs responded to the complaint about the medications by acknowledging the error. He said his business practices were affected by how busy and short-staffed the facility was. He was continuing to take courses on medication safety education and provided the board with proof.

Downs was first licensed to practice as an RN in Maine in 2011. On April 11, 2016 Harris House notified the Board of Nursing it had discharged Downs citing "a totality of substandard performance."

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