Charging documents say recovered camera footage became key evidence in the killing of a 19-year-old UW student.
SEATTLE — The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has released new video Thursday that prosecutors say shows murder suspect Christopher Leahy entering the laundry room where 19-year-old University of Washington student Juniper Blessing was later found dead.
Leahy, 31, was charged May 18 with first-degree murder with a deadly weapon enhancement. He remains in the King County Jail on $10 million bail.
The newly released clips include video from inside the Nordheim Court Apartments laundry room on May 10.
One video, timestamped 9:45 p.m., shows three dryers running with no one else in the room. Seconds later, another person opens the door and Leahy enters, making a comment about his clothes being there.
Another clip from about 10 p.m. shows Blessing sitting on the floor near a dryer while another man stands nearby looking at his phone. Both appear to be texting.
Moments later, Leahy enters the laundry room, looks directly at the camera and drops an item. He then turns and leaves. The other man leaves right behind him while Blessing remains in the room and checks the dryer’s lint trap.
Charging documents say the laundry room camera’s power cord had been unplugged when detectives examined it, but a video specialist later recovered footage from an SD card inside the camera.
The recovered video showed a clear, close-up image of a man who matched witness descriptions, according to the documents.
Prosecutors also released video from May 5 showing Leahy outside a home in the 2100 block of Northeast Ravenna Boulevard, about a third of a mile from Nordheim Court.
Charging documents say the man in that video tried the front door handle, pushed on the door and walked away when it did not open.
UW police responded to Nordheim Court, an off-campus student housing building, on the night of May 10 and found Blessing dead in a first-floor laundry room. She had suffered more than 40 stab wounds.
Investigators said witnesses placed a man matching Leahy’s description at the apartment complex that night.
One resident told police a man followed her into the same laundry room earlier in the evening, said he was waiting for laundry and left after she had a chance to return to her apartment, according to charging documents.
After Seattle police released photos of the suspect on May 13, they received a tip from Leahy’s brother, who told detectives he recognized the person in the image “without a doubt,” according to charging documents.
Leahy turned himself in to Bellevue police later that night after an attorney contacted the department, according to court documents.
He was then transferred to Seattle police and booked into the King County Jail.
A court order filed Wednesday continued Leahy’s arraignment from May 21 to June 4. The order says the delay was granted so defense counsel could have more time to assess concerns about Leahy’s mental health and competency.
Blessing’s family released a statement thanking the community, Seattle police, victim advocates, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“Today and every day, we remain focused on our Juniper, whose loving spirit has no bounds,” the statement reads. “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.”
If convicted, Leahy faces up to nearly 29 years in prison.
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