The Murdered
Emily “Cissy” Stuart
Princeton, New Jersey
🕯️ The Unsolved Murder of Emily “Cissy” Stuart 🏡🔍
On Sunday afternoon, April 2, 1989, 74 year old Emily “Cissy” Stuart, a well-known and vibrant Princeton socialite, was tending to her beloved garden outside of her home at 34 Mercer Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Known for her independence, strong opinions, and meticulous care of her property, Cissy was a prominent figure in the community and part of a longstanding family that helped run the local newspaper. That day, as she stepped down into the cellar beneath her porch, likely to retrieve gardening tools or supplies, someone followed her. In a sudden and brutal attack, she was stabbed five times in the back, leaving her to die on the stone floor of a basement storage room.
Two days later, her body was discovered by her elderly sister, shocking the quiet town and sparking what would become one of Princeton’s most enduring mysteries. Investigators found that the basement door had been padlocked shut after the murder, suggesting a calculated effort by the killer to conceal the crime. Despite an extensive investigation, authorities uncovered no weapon, fingerprints, fibers, or any meaningful forensic evidence. Nothing appeared to have been stolen, and there were no signs of sexual assault, leaving police with little to go on beyond the estimated time of death, shortly after 1:30 p.m.
In the days following her death, suspicion and speculation spread quickly. Cissy’s sons, Jeb and Charles, who stood to inherit her estate, valued at approximately $600,000, found themselves at the center of local rumors, though they strongly denied any involvement.
Just hours after Cissy’s murder, her maid and close friend, Annie Ryan, reportedly fired a gun at an intruder in her own Trenton home, an eerie and unexplained parallel. Then, in 1990, attention shifted toward a Haitian-born man named Gerald Geffrard, who was arrested for a separate violent crime involving a stabbing attack on a young woman in a nearby home. While some believed he could be connected to Cissy’s murder, he denied involvement, and conflicting opinions among law enforcement further muddied the investigation. Reports even surfaced that he had passed a lie detector test regarding the Stuart case.
Five months later, on September 20th, another stabbing occurred. 31 year old teacher, Marjorie Szeker was attacked after a Hispanic man tried to rob her of her purse in the Cost Cutters retail store parking lot, 10 miles away from Cissy’s home. Though there are similarities, the two cases have never been definitively connected.
Cissy Stuart’s full and happy life made her loss all the more tragic. Even in her seventies, she was energetic and deeply engaged in her community, often seen walking through town year-round, pruning trees, and caring for her flowers, including her cherished hybrid roses and daffodils.
Despite decades of investigation, countless leads, and widespread public interest, the murder of Emily “Cissy” Stuart remains unsolved. More than 35 years later, the case continues to haunt the Princeton community, a chilling reminder that even in the most peaceful towns, dark mysteries can linger unresolved.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Princeton Police Department at 609-921-2100.
To read about Marjorie Szeker, click here: The Murdered Marjorie Szeker – The Lost & The Taken
Sources:
Allegations of interference from on high probed in episode 3 of ‘In the Shadow of Princeton’ – nj.com
New Jersey Unsolved | Marjorie A. Szeker murdered September 20, 1989 in Hamilton Township | Facebook
The Lost & The Taken 