Bellevue man charged with murder in stabbing death of UW student

A 31-year-old Bellevue man has been criminally charged in connection with the murder of a University of Washington student last week.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

In charging documents, King County prosecutors accuse Christopher Michael Leahy of “viciously” murdering Juniper Blessing, a 19-year-old University of Washington student who was found stabbed to death in the laundry room of her Seattle apartment building on May 10. A medical examiner reported that she was stabbed more than 40 times. Prosecutors describe the murder as “horrific.”

Leahy has been charged in King County Superior Court with murder in the first degree with a deadly weapon enhancement. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of between 244-344 months (20.3 – 28.6 years).

RELATED: UW community mourns student’s death, questions safety measures

Neither Leahy nor his attorney were in court Monday morning when charges were read. Leahy is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday. Leahy is being held in King County Jail on $10 million bail.

According to the King County Prosecutor’s Office, there is currently no evidence that the crime was motivated by hate. If investigators find further evidence to indicate a hate crime, that can be referred to prosecutors to consider additional charges.

Leahy is accused of stabbing to death Juniper Blessing, a 19-year-old transgender woman, in the laundry room of a Nordheim Court building, a privately run student housing facility at 5000 25th Avenue NE. Leahy is not a student at UW.

According to the Seattle Police Department’s statement of probable cause, multiple witnesses reported seeing a man roaming around Building 7 of Nordheim Court, near its laundry room, on the evening of May 10. One young woman entered Building 7 at around 10:10 p.m. where she held the door open for a man believed to be Leahy as he exited the building. He thanked her and walked away, according to police. The woman then went to the laundry room where she found Blessing and called 911. Blessing was pronounced dead at the scene.

RELATED: Medical examiner identifies UW student fatally stabbed on Sunday

Charging documents state that, in the minutes prior to the homicide on May 10, Leahy allegedly stalked another UW student across Nordheim Court and into the laundry room where Blessing was later found dead. That student reported to police that the man told her he was checking on laundry and she left the room.

Prior to the stabbing, prosecutors allege that tracking apps and video recordings place Leahy inside campus buildings and also attempting to enter private homes in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood that borders the University of Washington. Prosecutors also state that Leahy returned to the area of the crime two days later.

Following the announcement of charges against Leahy, Blessing’s family released the following statement:

We wish to thank the Seattle Police Department, their Victim Advocates, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, all of whom have worked so hard and been so supportive in responding to our recent tragedy.

Today and every day, we remain focused on our Juniper, whose loving spirit has no bounds. Juniper was a beautiful human being with a heart full of love, tolerance, talent, determination and intellectual curiosity that was a light in our world and to the world at large.

We also wish to thank the Seattle community, whose response to this tragedy has been overwhelming, the community of Santa Fe, and LGBTQIA2S+ communities and advocates across the country who are memorializing and keeping vigil for Juniper by saying her name with love, honor, and respect. Thank you for standing beside our family as we grieve the loss of our beloved Juniper. Every gesture of support is another candle lit and another flower which blooms in Juniper’s memory.

Leahy turned himself in to police

On May 13, at 10:27 p.m., an attorney representing Leahy called Bellevue Police and said that Leahy would turn himself in, according to a statement of probable cause. Leahy’s family brought him to the Bellevue Police Department shortly thereafter, where he was taken into custody and transported to Seattle.

Leahy’s arrest happened hours after the Seattle Police Department had publicly released photos of a suspect captured by surveillance cameras near the crime scene, which spurred various tips to police.

Footage reviewed by police places a man appearing to be Leahy in the laundry room where Blessing was found between 9:45 p.m. and 10 p.m., prior to the time of her death, according to charging documents. The footage appears to show the man inspecting the camera’s power cord before the footage cuts off. Police noted that the power cord to the camera was disconnected when they found it.

Following the release of those images, a family member and a former classmate of Leahy’s called police.

The former classmate told police Leahy recently sent her a video message after having no contact for a long time. She noted another classmate was also contacted and they felt it was odd. Detectives used the video message to match Leahy with the man shown in videos from Nordheim Court.