Kendall Hall at TCNJ

A historic building on The College of New Jersey campus (formerly Trenton State College), Kendall Hall has been home to theatrical performances and academic programs for over a century.

Kendall Hall, built in 1929 as the main theater of what was then New Jersey State Teachers College, stands as one of the most haunting crime scenes in American college history. The Colonial Revival brick building with its grand auditorium has witnessed countless performances over nearly a century, but one tragic night in 1977 cast a permanent shadow over its stage.

On the evening of September 4, 1977, 25-year-old Sigrid Stevenson—a gifted pianist pursuing her master's degree in music—was brutally murdered on the main stage of Kendall Hall. Known as "Siggy" to friends, she was described as a piano prodigy who could sight-read difficult compositions and "lived to play the piano." That Labor Day weekend, with campus nearly empty before fall semester, she had been sleeping in the building's basement green room after watching a theater production the night before.

Campus Police Officer Thomas Kokotajlo discovered her body around 11:30 PM after noticing her bicycle chained to the railing outside—unusual for a Sunday night. He found Sigrid naked, face-down on the stage in a pool of blood, wrapped in a white piano cover. The medical examiner determined she had been beaten repeatedly with a blunt object, suffering severe cranial trauma and facial lacerations. Symmetrical ligature marks on her wrists suggested she had been handcuffed. Blood was spattered across her sheet music. Her last diary entry, written at 11:43 PM the previous night, noted: "They're going to turn the lights out, and it's going to be dark here in Kendall Hall."

The investigation uncovered disturbing details. The piano cover wrapped around her body came from Bray Hall's concert room grand piano approximately 75 yards away—not from Kendall Hall's instrument—suggesting the killer possessed keys to multiple buildings. Despite extensive blood at the scene, no fingerprints or footprints were recovered. Investigators interviewed over 100 people, polygraphed campus police officers, and pursued numerous leads, but Sigrid's killer has never been identified.

Since that night, students and staff have reported unsettling phenomena in Kendall Hall. The faint sound of piano music has been heard late at night when the building is empty. In one documented incident, a former student worker watched a paper towel float across a bathroom and land in a trash can on the opposite side—with no windows open and no air vents nearby. Others report unexplained footsteps in empty hallways, heavy doors slamming with no one present, cold spots, and the persistent feeling of being watched or followed. In 1999, theater scholars allegedly attempted a seance in the building; according to campus legend, radio static produced a whispered "Get out!"

The case gained renewed attention in 2024 when Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries featured Sigrid's story in Volume 4, Episode 4, titled "Murder Center Stage." That same September, New Jersey's Attorney General Cold Case Network reopened the investigation. TCNJ has since dedicated a piano practice room in the Music Building to Sigrid's memory, with President Michael Bernstein stating: "Though her murder remains unsolved, she should not be unknown." Scott Napolitano, a 2006 TCNJ graduate who first learned of Sigrid on a ghost tour of Kendall Hall, spent years working to bring her out of the shadows. "I wanted to make her a person," he said, "and not just a ghost."

Today, Kendall Hall continues to host theatrical performances and academic programs. Many believe Sigrid's spirit remains, drawn to the stage where she once played the music she loved. Whether her restless presence is simply campus legend or something more, her story serves as a haunting reminder that justice has never been served—and that somewhere, her killer may still be alive.