Seattle police have released photos of a suspect in the fatal stabbing Sunday night of a 19-year-old University of Washington student.
Police posted three photos to the SPD Blotter and asked for tips from the public. “Please take a close look at the photos below and see if you can help us capture this person,” the post reads. Police describe the suspect as a light-skinned Black male, approximately 5’7″ tall, with a thin build, wearing a long-sleeve dark blue zip-up shirt over a white-collared shirt underneath. He also wore dirty blue jeans and had dirty dark shoes, possibly gray, with light soles. He had dark-rimmed glasses, short black hair, and a goatee.
Police responded at about 10:10 p.m. Sunday to reports of a stabbing at Nordheim Court, a UW campus housing building. When they arrived, they found the victim in a laundry room.
The identity of the victim, who was a transgender woman, has not been released by police. Residents of Nordheim Court said the door to the laundry room where the student was found had been broken for months. According to UW spokesperson Victor Balta, Nordheim Court is part of a public-private partnership system and is managed by a company called Greystar. Greystar manages the facility and all maintenance requests associated within the community. The company did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Although the investigation into the crime is ongoing, UW President Robert Jones called attention to acts of violence against “a member of our LGBTQIA+ community.” “While investigators have not yet identified a suspect or a motive, I want to recognize that when violence affects a member of our LGBTQIA+ community, it can cause additional distress,” Jones wrote in a statement Monday evening. “Our Division of Student Life is reaching out to students and communities who are affected and providing support and resources to help them through this very difficult ordeal.” In a statement, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said her office is working with UW and the UW Q Center “to provide support to the communities who surrounded this young trans woman.” “Every young person deserves not just to feel, but to be safe, supported, and surrounded by a community that believes in them and in their future,” Wilson wrote. Anyone who knows or has information about the suspect is asked to call the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line at 206-233-5000. If you see the suspect, call 911.
KUOW reporters Anna Boiko-Weyrauch and Katie Campbell contributed to this report.
