Murder in the Ivy League

One December evening, a Columbia University security guard is murdered, with no suspect or motive in sight. Decades later, one retired detective is determined to solve the mystery.

Photos by Antoaneta Roussi

It went down to eleven degrees the night of December 20, 1988. Garry Germain, a newly hired security guard, had started working for Columbia University just six weeks prior. He was stationed at the Graduate School of Journalism. After finishing dinner, and with two hours left on his shift, Germain returned to his post at Pulitzer Hall. Standing inside the lobby to escape the cold, he kept a watchful eye on the courtyard, in particular towards the entrance of Furnald Hall grocery store, which had been held up twice in the past month.

Germain was last seen at ten p.m. near the marble floor inscription of newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer – who dedicated the school “in memory of his daughter Lucille.” By 10:20 p.m. he had been shot dead.

The 34-year-old security guard was found in a pool of blood; radio, notepad and nightstick still on his body. There appeared to have been no struggle; the police reports indicated the murder was quiet and precise.

Police arrived on…