Man, 31, Arrested in UW Student Stabbing, Police Say
Police say surveillance images and public tips helped identify the suspect, and a judge set bail at $10 million after finding probable cause for murder.
- On Wednesday, May 13, 31-year-old Christopher Leahy surrendered to Bellevue Police Department after Seattle released surveillance images seeking the suspect in the stabbing death of 19-year-old University of Washington student Juniper Blessing.
- Responding officers discovered Blessing stabbed over 40 times in the laundry room at Nordheim Court on Sunday, May 10, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office, marking a brutal attack on the atmospheric science student.
- Seattle Police Department detectives traced Leahy after releasing surveillance photos on May 13, which prompted tips from his brother and a former school friend who identified him as the man in the footage.
- University of Washington President Robert Jones stated, "I hope the arrest brings some sense of relief," while students continue mourning at a growing memorial in Red Square with candles, flowers, and trans flags.
- Defense attorneys dispute premeditation, arguing for second-degree murder, while prosecutors cite the 40 stab wounds as evidence of intent; transgender people are over four times more likely to be victims of violent crime, according to UCLA research.
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Community Grief and Healing Event Planned After Stabbing of Juniper Blessing, a 19-Year-Old Trans UW Student
All week, I’ve been trying to find the words for what happened to a transgender University of Washington student in off-campus student housing Sunday night, and hoping it was not what it looked like. We don’t know all the details. But from court documents and reporting from various newspapers and TV stations, we know that a 31-year-old Bellevue man allegedly stabbed 19-year-old Juniper Blessing in a laundry room more than 40 times until she died…
Transgender University of Washington student stabbed over 40 times: Court documents
University Of Washington Campus, The Quad With Flowering Cherry Trees In Spring (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images) (SEATTLE)– The transgender University of Washington student who was killed in a student housing building suffered over 40 stab wounds to the head, neck, shoulder, arms and hands, according to the probable cause statement. Juniper Blessing, 19, was found covered in blood in the laundry room of the Nordheim Court building…
Juniper Blessing, the 19-Year-Old Trans College Student Stabbed Over 40 Times
Credit: Instagram/juniperblessing and govmlg On Sunday, May 10, University of Washington student Juniper Blessing was stabbed to death in off-campus housing. The transgender sophomore atmospheric and climate science major was identified by a statement made by Blessing’s family, obtained by the Santa Fe New Mexican. Blessing’s murder is part of a larger, and terrifying, trend of violence experienced by trans people in America in 2026. View this…
Community grieves Juniper Blessing, trans student with 'heart of gold' who loved meteorology and Pokémon
This story originally appeared on Them. Students at the University of Washington are in mourning after the identity of the 19-year-old trans student stabbed and killed on Sunday became public. Her name was Juniper Blessing.Blessing, a major of the Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science, was the “most amazing human being we have ever known,” her family wrote in a statement. According to friends who have posted on social media, she enjoyed …
University of Washington Student Stabbed Over 40 Times in 10 Minutes: Here's What Made the Suspect's Exit Even More Chilling
University of Washington stabbing of Juniper Blessing has shaken an entire campus to its core. Read what the recovered footage revealed — and why students are still afraid.
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