Man to be charged with murder of Temple University student

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia police say a man will be charged with murder in the death of a Temple University student who had been missing since early Thursday morning.

Joshua Hupperterz, 29, is in police custody. Investigators said on Saturday that he has admitted to elements of the crime.

Jenna Burleigh, 22, of Harleysville, was last seen in the area of Pub Webb at 1527 Cecil B. Moore Avenue around 2 a.m. Thursday.

Police believe Burleigh and Hupperterz had just met before they left from the bar. Investigators say there is no indication of a prior relationship between the two.

Family: Body of missing Temple Univ. student found. Bob Brooks reports during Action News at 7pm on September 2, 2017.

VIDEO: Police news conference on Jenna Burleigh's murder

VIDEO: News conference on death of Jenna Burleigh. See raw video from September 2, 2017.

Burleigh was reported missing by her father, and the community was alerted to Burleigh's disappearance on Friday.

According to Philadelphia police, the investigation led from a home on the 1700 block of North 16th Street, then to a home in Jenkintown, Pa., then finally to Paupack Township in Wayne County.

VIDEO: Police search home in Jenkintown, Pa.

Police are investigating a home in Jenkintown in connection to a missing Temple University student.

On Saturday afternoon, police discovered a body believed to be Burleigh on the lakefront property of Hupperterz's grandmother in Paupack Township.

Police believe Burleigh was murdered in Philadelphia, then her body was transported to the Jenkintown home, then to Wayne County.

There was no word on the circumstances or cause of Burleigh's death. The murder does not appear to be premeditated, investigators said.

VIDEO: Police search home on North 16th Street

Philadelphia police search an off-campus home as they question a man in the case of a missing Temple University student in September 2017.

Hupperterz is a former Temple student who had "prior contact" with law enforcement, police say, but they did not elaborate.

Charges against other individuals are possible.

Burleigh's father reacted to the news of her death on his Facebook page Saturday afternoon.

The school's president said Burleigh had just joined the Temple community this week as a junior transfer student from Montgomery County Community College, majoring in film and media arts.

In a statement, the Temple Student Government said:

Those that knew Jenna described her as "big hearted," "hilarious," "fiercely feminist," "unapologetically herself," and "an incredibly woke young woman." She spent much of her time combating racism and sexism, as well as defending the rights for LGBTQIA+ community.

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