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A 31-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old University of Washington student Juniper Blessing, who was attacked while doing laundry in an off-campus apartment complex laundry room.
Christopher Leahy was charged on Monday, May 18, with murder in the first degree with a deadly weapon enhancement. If convicted, he faces 22 to 28.6 years in prison. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at the King County Courthouse.
According to charging documents, Leahy inflicted more than 40 stab wounds on Blessing on May 10 at the Nordheim Court apartments near the UW campus. Prosecutors described the attack as vicious, with Blessing stabbed while innocently doing laundry.
Investigators allege Leahy stalked another UW student at the complex before the attack. Tracking data and surveillance footage also placed him on the UW campus and attempting to enter private homes in the Ravenna neighborhood prior to the killing, and back near the scene two days afterward. He is not a UW student or Seattle resident.
Leahy turned himself in to authorities last week. He remains held on $10 million bail. King County prosecutors stated there is currently no evidence that the murder was motivated by hate, though additional charges could be considered if new evidence emerges. Blessing was a transgender woman and a choir singer. The killing has shocked the University of Washington community, with memorials growing on campus and at the apartment complex.
