She was 19 years old.

She was studying the atmosphere — literally learning how to understand the sky, the climate, the world we all share. She used she/they pronouns. Her friends said she only wished the best for everyone in her life.

On the night of May 10, Juniper Blessing carried her laundry down to the laundry room at Nordheim Court, a student housing complex near the University of Washington campus in Seattle. Surveillance footage shows her entering the room. It shows a man entering after her. It shows the man leaving alone. Another resident later found Juniper lying on the floor, covered in blood.

The King County Medical Examiner determined that Juniper had suffered more than 40 stab wounds to her head, neck, shoulders, arms, and hands.

Forty.

She was 19. She was doing laundry. She is gone.

What we know

A man named Christopher Leahy, 31, turned himself in to Bellevue police on Wednesday night, less than six hours after surveillance photos were released publicly. He was identified through tips from his own brother and a friend.

A judge found probable cause for first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and set bail at $10 million. Prosecutors argued the severity of Juniper’s injuries supported the premeditation charge. Leahy’s next court date is May 18.

Investigators are still working to determine whether this was a targeted attack or random violence. That question matters legally. But I want to be honest with you about what it doesn’t change: a young trans woman is dead in our city, and the climate that surrounds trans lives in this country right now is one of dehumanization, erasure, and state-sanctioned hostility.

The bigger picture

The Trans Collective at UW said it plainly this week: “Trans women, particularly trans women of color, are among the most vulnerable populations to violent crimes.” And the data backs it up — transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crime, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

We are living through a moment when the federal government has stripped protections for trans people, when anti-trans rhetoric pours out of press briefings and congressional hearings, when trans kids are being told they don’t belong in public life. And we are supposed to pretend this has no relationship to the violence trans people experience in the real world?

Washington State Rep. Shaun Scott said it should be “a cause for reflection and a spur for action in how we’re going to make Washington a safer place for all its residents.” That’s the floor, not the ceiling. Reflection without action is eulogy. And we’ve had enough eulogies.

What Juniper deserves

She deserves to be remembered as what she was: a young person with a future, a student studying the climate, someone her friends described as kind, thoughtful, and deeply loved.

A memorial has been growing outside the apartment complex where she was killed. A community healing event is being held May 16 at 4 p.m. in Sylvan Grove on the UW campus, hosted by the Trans Collective and Gender Justice League — open to trans and gender-expansive folks and allied community members.

Go if you can. Grieve if you need to. And then get loud.

Her name was Juniper Blessing. She was 19 years old. She was one of ours.

Say her name.

Sources: KIRO 7, KOMO News, KUOW, The Daily UW, NBC News, PinkNews

I’m Sean Bartley with Cup of Culture and The Progressive — and if you want to help back, follow and share.