Do you like true and mysterious stories? Listen to “In the Shadow of Princeton” for free.

The first two episodes of “In the Shadow of Princeton” are now available for free wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes will be released everywhere every Wednesday, or you can watch them in full, ad-free, on Wonderful+.

In the spring of 1989, New York City headlines reported a brutal attack in Central Park that would result in the wrongful conviction of five teenagers.

In Philadelphia, organized crime and the drug market were in chaos following the imprisonment of top La Cosa Nostra leaders.

Halfway between the two cities, in the idyllic neighborhood of Princeton, New Jersey, the crime and discord of the outside world had always seemed so far removed from this Ivy League town. Until the murder of Cissy Stuart.

It wasn’t just the town’s first murder in nearly a dozen years. Emily “Cissy” Stuart was the matriarch of an old Princeton family that ran the local newspaper, respected, feisty and strong enough to shovel her own lawn and chop her own wood, even at age 74.

But while Cissy was gardening on April 2, 1989, someone entered the basement room where she kept her tools and stabbed her five times in the back. The killer padlocked the door and fled.

Unsolved murders are the subject of the new podcast “In the Shadow of Princeton” from NJ.com and The Star-Ledger.

The series was reported by longtime Mercer County reporter Kevin Shea, who has followed the case for more than two decades, and Rebecca Everett, who co-reported and co-hosted the news organization’s first hit, “Father Wants Us Dead,” which won multiple awards and millions of downloads.

The first episode begins 35 years ago in the charming town of Princeton. A place where criminal activity seemed so absurd that no one looked for the missing woman in the locked basement for nearly two days.

When her body was discovered and police went to her stately home just blocks from the prestigious university, clues were few and far between. There was no obvious motive, no murder weapon and no reason why anyone would want to kill Princeton’s grande dame.

The investigation into Cissy’s death has been a 35-year Zodiac-like labyrinth of leads and dead ends. Police have pursued a variety of theories, from a serial attacker to Cissy’s family to a conspiracy, championed by a passionate investigator who believed a group of former Princeton University students were deliberately covering up a crime they committed during their college years.

“In the Shadow of Princeton” also follows the reporters in their own investigation, as they speak with dozens of sources, from long-silent witnesses to investigators and those who knew Cissy. Even Shea, who has followed the case for two decades, is shocked by what they reveal and how it challenges leading theories.

If you’ve listened to the first two episodes and can’t wait for episode three to air on September 11, you can watch the series by joining Wondery+ with a free trial.

For trailers, photos and other podcast information, visit www.theprincetonmurder.com.

Thank you for trusting us to provide you with journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

You can reach Rebecca Everett at [email protected] .