Christopher Leahy has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of University of Washington student Juniper Blessing inside a campus-area apartment complex laundry room, according to King County court documents filed Monday.
Leahy is expected in court Thursday, May 21, for an arraignment hearing. This is a KOMO News compilation of all of our coverage from the start of the investigation up to when Leahy turned himself in.
Prosecutors allege Leahy killed 19-year-old Blessing on May 10 at the Nordheim Court student housing complex near the University of Washington campus.
Charging documents accuse Leahy of acting “with premeditated intent” and say he was armed with “a knife or similarly shaped instrument.”
Investigators believe Leahy, 31, may also be linked to incidents involving someone entering or prowling through homes in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood and other buildings near campus, according to new information released in charging documents.
According to court documents, “tracking apps and video recordings have placed [Leahy] in campus buildings and attempting to enter private homes in Ravenna prior to the murder and back near the murder scene two days after the murder.”
Authorities said evidence gathered so far suggests Blessing, who was transgender, was not specifically targeted because of gender identity, and investigators have not found evidence supporting a hate crime allegation.
“Right now, there is no evidence to prove a hate crime,” Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office told KOMO News.
“In order to prove a hate crime, you’ve got to show motivation, but what it appears is that this victim was picked at random.”
Blessing suffered more than 40 stab wounds, according to court documents.
According to documents, Leahy was further connected to the scene through fingerprints allegedly recovered from what appeared to be blood smears on the exterior side of the laundry room door.
Police released security footage of the suspect to the media and the public, which generated numerous tips. One tip came from Leahy’s brother, who identified him as the man in the video.
Authorities said Leahy later turned himself in at the Bellevue Police Department with his parents after an attorney contacted police on his behalf.
If convicted, Leahy faces a sentencing range of about 22 to 29 years in prison, including a deadly weapon enhancement, prosecutors said.
#breakingnews #crime #juniperblessing #uw #universityofwashington #seattlepolice #policeinvestigation #murderinvestigation
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Y'all are DESPERATELY looking for ways to blame this on the victim. "What caused this?" I have your answer – some predatory ASSHOLE found a convenient victim to take his failures as a human being out on. It doesn't matter if or how they knew each other. Their relationship wouldn't matter, if it existed at all, because normal people don't kill over losing a relationship. I don't care what his motive is, sequester him from the rest of humanity, forever.
media: trans ppl are dangerous and evil
trans person gets stabbed to death
media: :0
Omg the judge said 'irregardless.' THERE'S NO SUCH WORD. The word to use is REGARDLESS. A judge is supposed to be highly educated. 😮
The national news really abandoned the trans community eh??
Looks like a random killing by a psycho.
"She"
Weird Al Transkovic probably was going around trying to trick men and he finally reached the "finding out" stage
Imagine discovering you were the one initially being stocked and that could have been you…. discovering the horrors that resulted in the loss of a young life 😢 We live in a scary world with cruel individuals all around us. A lot of these crimes don't even have a motive….it's sick 😢
There are always killings in a war zone. At least it wasn't a normal person, a woman with balls.😂😂
Where's the National news coverage? Why is this story only local?
Suspect looks like his hard drive has a hard drive.
Unfortunately someone has to die to have security be accountable.
So the news always led with the story of a potential hate crime, noting the victim is trans. Prosecutor Casey McNerthney has since stated there is no sign of a hate crime. The news, however, keeps repeating the story while others are abandoned after the initial report. You continue to lead with the narrative of hate crimes against the transeses; and citing statistics on how trans people are at greater risk of violence. I don’t really care, but you have no interest in other cases and are very cautious about the details of those cases. Even Jeremy Harris admitted the accused has one of the highest bails he’s ever seen. While others are being let out on $200K and the public has to cause the uproar to try for more (like the kid who accidentally killed a 13 year old girl in Lynnwood). The bias in your reporting is reprehensible and it’s why you’ve lost your credibility with the public (who are paying attention).
A person murdered! It doesn't matter their sexual orientation!
Sue, safety violation. None of these landlords will change until they are forced to pay for their lack of accountability.
Probably a homeless drug addict.