Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murder Of College Student

Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murder Of College Student
Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murder Of College Student

Video: Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murder Of College Student

Video: Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murder Of College Student
Video: Man sentenced to life in prison for killing Denton college student 2024, March
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A man was found guilty of the murder of a student at Temple University. The crime occurred in his apartment in Philadelphia in 2017 after they had an argument in the middle of a sexual encounter, PEOPLE confirmed. Joshua Hupperterz, 30, was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for the death of Jenna Burleigh, 22, a spokesman for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office told PEOPLE.

According to prosecutors, Burleigh and Hupperterz met at a bar in the early morning of August 31, 2017, and then had consensual sex in Hupperterz's apartment. However, the encounter turned violent and non-consensual when she refused to indulge him with a sexual act. Prosecutors said Hupperterz hit and strangled Burleigh, who died of strangulation and head trauma.

Joshua Hupperterz and Jenna Burleigh
Joshua Hupperterz and Jenna Burleigh

The man then put the corpse into a blue plastic box, hiding it in his mother's house and then taking it to his grandmother's house in the Pocono Mountains, where the police found it. The spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office added to PEOPLE that the young student was helping the homeless and was an advocate for women's rights. "Jenna was very compassionate, loving, supportive of many causes," her father Ed Burleigh told KYW News Radio.

At first, Hupperterz accused his roommate of being the young woman's murderer, but the jury rejected that version of events. To honor the student's memory, the Burleigh family founded the non-profit organization Jenna's Blessing Bags, which collects new and used wallets to fill with items and donate to the homeless.

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