Campus Alert Archive
UW

10:40 PM Shelter Order at Nordheim Court: UW Warns Residents to Lock Doors After a Housing Homicide

WAstabbingemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On May 10, 2026, at approximately 10:10 PM PDT, University of Washington police responded to a stabbing at Nordheim Court and found a 19-year-old transgender UW student deceased in a Building 7 laundry room. The official UW Alert Blog labeled the first alert at 10:40 p.m., instructed Nordheim Court residents to stay indoors and lock doors and windows, and lifted the remain-inside instruction at 12:56 a.m. A 31-year-old man turned himself in to Bellevue Police around 10:20 p.m. Wednesday, May 13.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
University of Washington
Public R1 · WA
~48,100 studentsUW Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 3 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTWebsite
Verified verbatimUW Alert Blog official post338 chars
10:40 p.m.: UW Police Department officers are investigating a death that occurred at Nordheim Court Apartments building 7 reported at about 10:20 p.m. The death is being investigated as a homicide. If you are at Nordheim Court, stay indoors and lock doors and windows. Additional information will be provided here as it becomes available.
The official blog labels the alert at 10:40 p.m., while the WordPress post timestamp is 10:42 p.m.; the body timestamp is used here because it is part of the alert text.
UW used a location-specific shelter instruction for Nordheim Court residents rather than a broad campus lockdown, matching the known housing-complex threat geography.
The wording says 'death' before 'homicide,' a careful register that confirms severity while avoiding details that were not yet established publicly.
ALL CLEARWebsite+2h 16m
Verified verbatimUW Alert Blog official update210 chars
UPDATE at 12:56 a.m.: Nordheim Court residents no longer need to remain inside their homes. The death investigation remains ongoing. If you see the person officers are looking for (description below), call 911.
The update lifts the remain-inside instruction but keeps the death investigation active, a precise distinction between local protective action and case resolution.
UW's 'description below' phrasing depends on the Alert Blog page format and would have read differently in standalone SMS or push channels.
The alert tells residents to call 911 if they see the person being sought, but it does not say the suspect is in custody or that the homicide is solved.
FOLLOW-UPWebsite+3d
Verified verbatimUW Alert Blog official custody update651 chars
UPDATE at 7:47 a.m. Thursday, May 14: A suspect in the fatal stabbing of a 19-year-old UW student on Sunday is in custody, Seattle police announced this morning. The man, 31, turned himself in to the Bellevue Police Department around 10:20 p.m. on Wednesday. Bellevue police then transferred him to Seattle police. He was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of murder. The man is the person Seattle police shared photos of Wednesday afternoon. Anyone with additional information is asked to call the violent crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000. Anonymous tips are accepted. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
This replaces a reconstructed presidential-message alert with a primary-source UW Alert Blog custody update, keeping the alert timeline tied to verifiable official text.
The update provides the surrender timeline and booking basis but still solicits tips, signaling that custody did not end the investigative phase.
The official text capitalizes 'Tip Line' in 'violent crimes Tip Line'; that wording is preserved exactly from the source.
Context

Background

The University of Washington is the state's flagship public R1 research university, enrolling about 48,100 students in Seattle. At approximately 10:10 p.m. PDT on Sunday, May 10, 2026, UW Police responded to a stabbing at Nordheim Court, a UW-managed student-housing complex on the edge of campus, and found a 19-year-old transgender woman deceased in a Building 7 laundry room. The official UW Alert Blog shows the first shelter instruction at 10:40 p.m., followed by multiple updates that narrowed the location, gave a suspect description, lifted the remain-inside order at 12:56 a.m., and announced custody on May 14. ABC News quoted the protective-action phrase telling residents to stay indoors and lock doors and windows, while local coverage described the police search for the suspect at the off-campus apartments. A 31-year-old man turned himself in to Bellevue Police around 10:20 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, and Seattle police announced custody the next morning. UW President Robert J. Jones issued a statement, documented by The Daily UW, explicitly acknowledging the attack's impact on LGBTQIA+ students; The Daily also reported this as the first recorded homicide of a UW student in UW housing.
Analysis

Key Findings

The gap between officer arrival (about 10:10 p.m.) and the first alert text labeled 10:40 p.m. reflects UWPD's confirmation protocol — distinct from universities that issue alerts at dispatch
Nordheim Court is technically UW-owned student housing but is often described in media as 'off-campus apartments,' creating recurring ambiguity about whether incidents are inside or outside the Clery geography
President Jones's explicit recognition of LGBTQIA+ community impact within 24 hours represents an emerging best practice for trauma-informed crisis communication after attacks on community-targeted victims
The Daily UW's documentation that this is the first recorded homicide of a UW student in UW housing makes this a milestone case in the archive's UW-specific history
Outcome
One UW student killed — Juniper Blessing, a 19-year-old transgender woman who suffered more than 40 stab wounds per the King County Medical Examiner; The Daily reported it as the first recorded homicide of a student in UW housing. A 31-year-old man, identified in court documents as Christopher Leahy, turned himself in to Bellevue PD around 10:20 p.m. on May 13, 2026; Seattle police announced he was in custody the morning of May 14, and a judge later found probable cause for first-degree murder and set bail at $10 million. UW President Robert J. Jones issued a statement explicitly recognizing the attack's impact on LGBTQIA+ students.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    UW Alert - UW Alert Blog
    emergency.uw.edu
  2. News
    UW student killed in stabbing at off-campus Nordheim Court apartments (Seattle Times)
    seattletimes.com
  3. News
    Suspect arrested in killing of UW student at Nordheim Court (Seattle Times)
    seattletimes.com
  4. News
    Police searching for suspect in UW student's murder at off-campus apartments (KOMO News)
    komonews.com
  5. Official
    UPDATE: Man Arrested in Connection to University of Washington Homicide (SPD Blotter)
    spdblotter.seattle.gov
  6. Student Paper
    Nordheim Court tragedy marks first recorded homicide of a student in UW housing (The Daily)
    dailyuw.com
  7. News
    Transgender University of Washington student stabbed to death in laundry room (ABC News)
    abcnews.com
  8. News
    Judge sets $10M bail for man accused in UW student's murder inside laundry room (KOMO News)
    komonews.com
Tags
stabbinghomicidepublic-r1washingtonuw-housingnordheim-courtlgbtqiafirst-housing-homicidestranger-attacktrans-victim
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion