The creators of the hit podcast “Father Wants Us Dead” are releasing their next gripping true crime series about a New Jersey killing that still shocks and perplexes an Ivy League town decades later.
“In the Shadow of Princeton” is an investigative deep-dive into the 1989 cold-case killing of Emily “Cissy” Stuart, the feisty matriarch of an old Princeton family that ran the local newspaper. Cissy was gardening on a beautiful spring day when she was stabbed in the back and locked in her basement.
Her body wasn’t discovered for two days. Suddenly, her stately property — sitting a block from the prestigious university and dotted with daffodils and roses – was awash in police tape and investigators from around the state.
But their careful investigative efforts resulted in very few clues: no murder weapon, no sign of robbery or ransacking, no obvious reason anyone would want to kill the grande dame of Princeton.
“In the Shadow of Princeton” is NJ.com and The Star-Ledger’s follow-up to the news organization’s first hit, “Father Wants Us Dead,” which garnered international awards and millions of downloads.
That podcast investigated how accountant John List murdered his wife, mother and three children in Westfield and escaped with his dark secret to lead a second life. But thanks to a detailed confession note, it was always clear who was responsible for the heinous act.
The murder of Cissy Stuart, however, is still unsolved 35 years later.
But police do have a theory about who did it.
Reporters Kevin Shea and Rebecca Everett are leading the first deep-dive into the case — one Shea has covered for years. They unearthed old police records, reached over 100 sources and interviewed or received comment from 60, from witnesses and retired investigators to those who knew and remembered Cissy as the formidable Maven of Mercer Street. A woman who lived life on her own terms, spoke her mind and enjoyed bloody marys after church on Sundays.
Listeners will follow police chasing down different theories of the crime from a serial stabber, to Cissy’s family, to a conspiracy — championed by an impassioned investigator who believed a group of Princeton University alums were deliberately covering up what really happened when they were sophomores.
“In the Shadow of Princeton” also follows the reporters on their own investigation, as they try to uncover new details lost as investigators, witnesses, and Cissy’s friends and family have passed away, or in other cases, gone silent.
The video trailer for the new show is now available.
The podcast debuts June 5 with new episodes coming each Wednesday. The first episode will be released wherever you get your podcasts.
Then, you can listen to “In the Shadow of Princeton” exclusively and ad-free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
NJ.com readers can get a free trial at www.wondery.com/links/in-the-shadow-of-princeton.
For trailers, photos and other information about the podcast, visit www.theprincetonmurder.com.
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Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com.
