UW student killed in stabbing at off-campus Nordheim Court apartments

Police are searching for a man suspected of killing a 19-year-old female University of Washington student at an off-campus apartment building Sunday night.

The death was reported around 10:20 p.m. at Nordheim Court apartments' building 7 in the 5000 block of 25th Avenue Northeast, university police said in a series of alerts.

Officers had responded to reports of a stabbing and found the student dead in a laundry room, Seattle police said in a blotter post Monday morning.

No motive has been established, said university spokesperson Victor Balta.

There are no words that can express the profound loss of a student," UW President Robert Jones said in a statement. He went on to say that "when violence affects a trans person it can be especially worrying to our LGBTQIA+ community members."

Seattle police said the 19-year-old was a transgender woman but could not fully confirm that until the medical examiner's office releases its report.

Seattle police and university police released a description of the suspect, saying they are looking for a Black man who is about 25 to 30 years old, about 5-foot-7, with a slim build, black hair and a beard. He was last seen wearing a button-up shirt under a dark blue vest and blue jeans.

For about three hours after the 19-year-old woman was found dead, university police asked residents in the apartment complex to stay inside and lock their doors and windows while officers secured and searched the area for the suspect.

Residents were told they could leave their apartments by 1 a.m. Monday.

Residents said Nordheim Court apartments management notified them just before 2 a.m. Monday that there was "an altercation on property that turned violent.

Joelle Dlugozima, a 23-year-old graduate student who lives in the same building, and her roommates propped a chair against their locked door for extra safety after getting the university's alerts.

"We hardly got any sleep," Dlugozima said.

The 19-year-old student was killed in the laundry room - one of two in the student housing complex - that Dlugozima uses. She said it was blocked off with paper covering the windows Tuesday morning.

Dlugozima questioned the buildings' safety, saying the ID scanner to the laundry room had been broken and that the stairway into the building was pitch black in the dark.

Residents also told The Times it's relatively easy to get into the laundry room without an access code. Someone on foot could just tailgate a vehicle entering the parking garage and walk through the building to the laundry room where the 19-year-old died.

Yibing Zhou, a 24-year-old doctoral student, said students are helping each other feel safer. They are offering to do laundry together and walk in groups to classes, especially for those who have classes at night.

"It's important that people stay together," Zhou said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Seattle police violent crime tip line at 206-233-5000.

The university is providing support at the UW Counseling Center and via SafeCampus, Husky Assist and the Washington State Employee Assistance Program.

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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 9:42 AM.