Police release details of choir singer stabbed 40 times as suspect turns self in
Topics: True crime, Transgender, Crime, Washington
William Morgan
Featured Image Credit: Santa Fe Pride and Human Rights Alliance
Topics: True crime, Transgender, Crime, Washington
Chilling details have been released by police regarding the alleged killer of University of Washington student Juniper Blessing, whose tragic murder too place in a laundry close to the campus.
The 19-year-old choir singer's death was ruled a homicide by detectives, who said that they had died from multiple stab wounds. It has since emerged that Blessing was stabbed around 40 times in the horrifying attack.
A man handed himself into Bellevue Police Department two days after the slaying, which took place on Sunday, May 10, just a few short hours after surveillance footage was released of the person they believed responsible for the student's death.
31-year-old Christopher Leahy was then charged with first-degree murder, according to law enforcement in Seattle, with court records revealing that Blessing had tragically suffered wounds to their head, neck, shoulders, arms and hands, in the brutal laundry room attack.
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These court records, seen by People, show that fellow students living in the residential block near the UW campus, as well as surveillance cameras, had seen Leahy stalking others around the building complex.
Video recordings described in the documents allegedly showed Blessing and Leahy entering the laundry room on Sunday, with the young transgender woman entering with a bag of laundry and a bottle of detergent.
The suspect remained in the room for several minutes before leaving.
A chilling detail from the records show that two students told investigators that they had seen the suspect in vicinity of the laundry room, with one eyewitness seeing Leahy just staring out of the window.
The other stated that they had passed Leahy in the hall, even opening the door for the suspected killer as he left the room. Then, they discovered the bloody murder scene, where police have also managed to recover CCTV footage of the attack.
Two days later at 10.32pm, after police released his image on social media and received a flood of reports identifying him as Christopher Leahy, including from even his brother, the suspect handed himself in.
Then, on Thursday, Leahy was hauled before a judge who found probable cause for first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and set his bond at $10 million.
The 19-year-old's family have released a heartbreaking statement in the wake of their senseless loss.
It reads: "Our family has been shattered by the loss of our child, Juniper Blessing, to an act of unspeakable violence near the University of Washington campus in Seattle.
"Juniper was simply the most amazing human being we have ever known – highly intelligent, extremely talented, and deeply sensitive to the needs of others. Juniper’s loss not only devastates us but diminishes the world.
"Juniper was born Michael Carneiro da Cunha Blessing in Princeton, New Jersey where they attended Littlebrook School and Princeton Middle School until they moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2018. A gifted singer with a transcendent voice, Juniper was admitted to New Mexico School for the Arts, where they studied from 2020 until 2024.
"Weather was a love of Juniper’s since early childhood, and at the University of Washington they intended to study Atmospheric Science while continuing to study voice and pursuing minors in Music and Philosophy. They loved Seattle and Santa Fe, where they worked as an usher during summers at the Santa Fe Opera.
"Perhaps most importantly, Juniper was courageously living their life as who they were until it was cut tragically short. Blessed with many loving friends, family members and mentors, Juniper will be deeply missed.
"In this time of loss, we ask that you respect us and Juniper’s memory by mourning with us but respecting our privacy."