Suspect in fatal stabbing of trans UW student identified, turns himself in to police

The suspect being sought in connection with the fatal stabbing of a transgender University of Washington student in off-campus housing on Sunday has turned himself in. Christopher Leahy, 31, has been booked into the King County Jail for investigation of murder.

Seattle Police announced on Thursday morning that the man turned himself in to the Bellevue Police Department on Wednesday night at around 10:20 p.m. and was transferred to the custody of Seattle Police Department Homicide detectives.



Authorities had released photos of the suspect on Wednesday afternoon. He was described as a "light-skinned black male approximately 5’7”, thin build, wearing a long-sleeve dark blue full zip shirt with a light triangle style emblem inside a circle on the left front, a white collared shirt underneath, dirty blue jeans, dirty dark, possibly gray shoes with a light sole. Subject is wearing darker rimmed eyeglasses, has short black/ hair and a goatee with ingrown scruff around the jaw."

On May 10, a 19-year-old transgender student at the University of Washington was found stabbed to death in the laundry room at Nordheim Court, a student housing complex. The victim was discovered shortly after 10:10 pm Sunday when UW police responded to reports of a stabbing at Nordheim Court. Lifesaving measures were attempted, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

A LinkedIn profile appearing to belong to the suspect claims that Leahy is a "Self-Published Author" at Amazon. Among the books released was one called "Great State," described as "a play off George Orwell's 1984 with Ayn Rand's Objectivist tone" and having the objective of "warning individuals about the 2016 Presidential election."



The account also states that he developed a startup called Ascension, which "involves reducing fake news, contributing social value, contributing to social policy, developing social and financial capital, and is in the ring for $10,000 angel investing through Amazon Catalyst program."

The suspect has a history of "crises," and surrendered himself over to police after being urged by his family in Bellevue, Washington, to do so. A motive has not yet been established.