The man accused of stabbing a trans college student to death in Seattle in May has been found incompetent to stand trial.
Christopher Leahy, 31, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Juniper Blessing, a student at the University of Washington who was found dead in the laundry room of her off-campus apartment complex. She was stabbed over 40 times, King County prosecutors said.
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At a hearing in June, Leahy’s defense attorneys argued the defendant wasn’t competent to stand trial.
“Based on our observations, we don’t think he’s competent to move forward,” defense attorney Laura Shaver said at the time.
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At a hearing on Monday, King County Superior Court Judge Joe Campagna agreed, ordering Leahy to undergo “competency restoration treatment” at Western State Hospital, where the accused is currently under observation, KOMO News reports.
“The court finds Mr. Leahy is not able to proceed in this matter at this time and orders restoration,” Campagna ruled.
“Competency restoration treatment” is a court-ordered legal and clinical process for mentally ill or cognitively impaired defendants to regain the mental capacity required to understand court proceedings, according to the National Center for State Courts.
The process can take up to a year and involves managing a patient’s mental illness with antipsychotic medications, providing legal education, and participating in mock trials to prepare and evaluate a patient for competency in a trial setting.
Details of Leahy’s mental health condition haven’t been released by the court or Leahy’s attorneys. His defense cited the attorney-client privilege in requesting that the court seal certain case documents, arguing they could reveal Leahy’s defense strategy and identify potential expert witnesses.
Leahy remains under evaluation at Western State Hospital for 90 days while doctors determine whether his competency can be restored. He is scheduled to return to court in September, when the judge will again assess his competency for trial.
Blessing, 19, was discovered in the laundry room of her off-campus apartment building late on the evening of May 10 by another resident. She was stabbed over 40 times, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Cops were called to the off-campus Nordheim Court apartments, where they found Blessing unresponsive on the floor. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Surveillance video placed Leahy in the laundry room at the time of the killing, where he remained for about seven minutes before exiting alone.
Three days later, an attorney for Leahy called police and arranged for his surrender. Leahy turned himself in to the Bellevue Police Department, accompanied by his parents and the lawyer.
Leahy was charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing. Charging documents allege Leahy acted “with premeditated intent” and say he was armed with “a knife or similarly shaped instrument.”
In addition to the surveillance video, Leahy was connected to the crime scene through fingerprints recovered in blood smears on the outside of the laundry room door, the charging documents state.
King County prosecutors say police have yet to find evidence that Blessing’s murder was a hate crime. Another resident of the apartment building said Leahy followed her into the laundry room about 15 minutes before Blessing’s murder. Leahy said he was waiting for laundry but eventually left.
Blessing, from Santa Fe, was studying atmospheric and climate science at UW, with minors in philosophy and music. She was a talented singer, according to family and friends.
Axton Burton of Pride Across the Bridge, a Seattle-area LGBTQ+ advocacy group, was at Monday’s hearing and told KOMO they plan to attend the legal proceedings until Blessing receives justice.
“The amount of pain that our community has been forced to hold with this atrocity is not OK,” they said. “We’ve been connected with Juniper’s parent and have been holding space for her through all of this. Being able to bear witness is very important to us.”
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