A Thai graduate student and her roommate were found dead in their shared apartment next to the University of Washington, Seattle campus on Tuesday night.
Around 9:30am PDT, local Seattle time, officers of the Seattle Police Department responded to a call from the manager of Malloy Apartments, the residential building where the two victims shared an apartment. According to The Seattle Times, the building manager had called in to report that a stabbing with serious injuries had occurred on the premises.
When officers arrived at the building and entered the unit, however, they found the bodies of two deceased women, who had died from severe stab wounds.
One victim, who was also the owner of the apartment unit, was identified as 25-year-old graduate student Kornkamol “Amm” Leenawarat. She was the niece of Kritsada Leenawarat, Mayor of Thanyaburi district in Pathumthani province, reported Thairath.
The second woman, Thitiorn Chotechuangsap, was a Sumart Prahkan native, and reported by local media to be Kornkamol’s best friend.
According to an as yet unidentified cousin, Kornkamol had called her relatives back in Thailand just days before her death, expressing worry over her safety. At the time, she told them that she believed her life was in danger.
She then dropped off the grid and became unreachable. Then, 72 hours later, her body was found by the Seattle police.
“Amm came home [to Thailand] to see her family and friends and had just returned around 10 days ago,” said Kritsada, via Khaosod. “All of a sudden our family couldn’t get in touch with her, which got us very worried because Amm have never been rebellious… Then the university informed us that she has not attended classes… next, we heard she was found dead.”
The King County Medical Examiner is currently working on theories that could explain what may have happened, and determining whether other people were involved in their deaths, said Seattle police in a written statement.
Authorities have not yet identified any potential suspects, but have publicly stated that they do not see there to be a threat to overall public safety, reported Seattle Times.
Even so, as news of the deaths came out, the University of Washington sent out an emergency alert to all of its students, warning them to avoid the area for the time being.
Another tenant currently residing in the building told Fox News that the tragedy “makes you think if you’re really as safe as you think you are.”
