Court docs: Suspect in murder of WA college student ‘stalked’ others

Police arrest suspect in deadly UW stabbing

The suspect believed to be responsible for the deadly stabbing of a 19-year-old University of Washington student has reportedly turned himself in, according to the Seattle Police Department.

SEATTLE - The man accused of stabbing a University of Washington student to death on Sunday faces a first-degree murder charge, after witness accounts and surveillance video show he stalked students at the apartment where the murder took place.

According to new court documents obtained by FOX 13 Seattle, the suspect snuck into the laundry room of Nordheim Court, an off-campus apartment complex, and stabbed a woman to death.

Seattle police identified the suspect as 31-year-old Christopher Leahy. FOX 13 Seattle is withholding the name of the victim until we receive a statement from the family.

Court documents show suspect stalking students

According to those court documents, a person living at Nordheim Court went around 9:30 p.m. to the laundry building, which was locked behind a number pad. They told investigators there were frequent issues with the door lock, and they "believed the laundry room door's lock [had] been non-functional."

As the person went in, the suspect passed by them, and they held the door open for him. As they entered the laundry room, they found the victim on the floor, covered in blood.

Medical personnel say the victim was stabbed more than 40 times, with wounds in the head, neck, shoulder, arms and hands.

Another student told investigators she was dropped off at Nordheim Court by a friend, and as she walked through the complex, she noticed an unknown man following her from behind. According to court documents, this man followed her all the way to the laundry building, getting closer as they got into the laundry room. The suspect then told her he was waiting for his laundry, then he left, the student told investigators.

A third student reported seeing the same unknown man when he went to pick up a food delivery outside, around the time of the murder. He told investigators he saw the suspect staring out the window of the laundry building door, according to court records.

UW Fatal Stabbing Suspect

Surveillance video shows University of Washington stabbing victim

Surveillance video shared by Nordheim Court's property managers showed the victim entering the laundry room to do her laundry and then leaving shortly after.

Video then appeared to show the suspect following the second student into the laundry room, corroborating her report to investigators. Later video shows the victim move her clothes to the dryer, as well as another student who was doing laundry.

The suspect is seen entering and leaving the laundry room several times in the surveillance video, at one point staring directly into the security camera, then observing the cord which connected to a power outlet. When police received the video, chunks of it were missing due to the cord being pulled. A video specialist with Seattle police was able to pull the rest of the video from the device's SD card.

According to court records, the suspect photos released led to several tips which led detectives to identifying and arresting the suspect.

The suspect turned himself in and was booked into King County Jail for first-degree murder.

A judge set the suspect's bail at $10 million.

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