UW murder suspect to be evaluated at Western State Hospital

The suspect in the murder of a University of Washington (UW) student is headed for a mental health evaluation.

Christopher Leahy, 31, is accused of stabbing 19-year-old Juniper Blessing to death on May 10. She was found dead in the laundry room of her off-campus apartment building. According to court documents obtained by MyNorthwest and KIRO Newsradio, Blessing was stabbed 40 times.

Police said the woman was discovered in a laundry room at Nordheim Court Apartments, located north of University Village behind the Crate and Barrel store. The complex primarily houses international and graduate students affiliated with the university.

UW murder suspect surrenders to police

No arrests were made the day of the murder. Seattle police eventually released still images from surveillance footage showing a man they believed to be a suspect. On May 14, Leahy surrendered to Bellevue Police.

Court documents revealed Leahy was hanging around the neighborhood for days, and may have actually targeted other women before the attack.

Leahy declined to appear in Thursday’s arraignment proceedings — an initial appearance where charges are read, and defendants enter a plea. Instead, Leahy’s two attorneys appeared on his behalf and raised questions about his competency to stand trial.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Leahy will be committed to Western State Hospital for 15 days of observation and a forensic evaluation.

“I think a lot of people might hear this and say, ‘Does this mean the criminal case is dismissed?’ It doesn’t. It means that the question of competency that’s raised by the defense needs to be addressed by the court. And then the case can move forward from there,” Casey McNerthney, director of communications for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said.

No plea will be entered until after the evaluation.

The next court hearing is scheduled for June 25.

Read more of Jillian Raftery’s stories here.