Insets: Photos released by police in Washington state showing a man suspected of killing a University of Washington student at one of the school's off-campus housing complexes (Seattle Police Department).
A University of Washington School of Music choir soloist was stabbed 40 times while doing laundry in her student housing building in Seattle. Police say her killer looked directly into a security camera before unleashing a "horrific" and "brutal" attack on her while she was cleaning a dryer lint tray.
Juniper Blessing, 19, was at the Nordheim Court apartment complex — described by police as a "campus housing building" for UW students — when 31-year-old Christopher Leahy allegedly targeted her in a stabbing attack around 10 p.m. on May 10.
Seattle police issued a press release after the alleged murder saying they were searching for Leahy after he was allegedly caught on surveillance video inside the laundry room where Blessing was found dead.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by The Seattle Times alleges that Leahy can be seen entering the room as Blessing was cleaning out a dryer lint tray. He looks directly into the security camera, according to the affidavit.
Police say the camera was unplugged when they found it but a video specialist managed to recover the footage from its memory card. It is unclear whether the stabbing attack was caught on camera, with cops not stating in the affidavit whether it was, per the Times.
Blessing was stabbed in her head, neck, shoulders, arms and hands.
Leahy allegedly turned himself in to police on Tuesday and was charged with first-degree murder after his family — who says he has mental health problems — urged him to do so. Court records show that Leahy and his parents sued his private high school, alleging staff failed to protect him from harassment and bullying by other students, according to the Times. The lawsuit described him as disabled.
"[Leahy] went from being a socially active teenager who attended school functions, to being a withdrawn young man who became an outcast that was excluded from social circles," the family's legal complaint said.
Blessing, who is transgender, graduated from the New Mexico School for the Arts in 2024, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. She was a choir soloist and alto for UW's Chorale ensemble and "Blue Planet" program last year.
Her family told the local newspaper in a statement issued by the Santa Fe Human Rights Alliance that she was "simply the most amazing human being we have ever known — highly intelligent, extremely talented, and deeply sensitive to the needs of others."
The family added, "Juniper's loss not only devastates us but diminishes the world."
Leahy appeared in court Thursday and his bail was set at $10 million. He's due back in court on May 18.