Hulu’s true crime series Death in the Dorms takes an in-depth look at terrible cases that occur in colleges and universities across the US, and one of the most shocking examples was the murder of student Jenna Burleigh. The horrific incident occurred in 2017, leading to an investigation and subsequent arrest, but the details behind the crime are some of the most horrific portrayed in the series.
What Happened to Jenna Burleigh?
Jenna was a college student whose body was discovered in a shed in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania in 2017. A few days before, Jenna had been out with friends and attended a pub with other students from Temple University. Jenna was majoring in film and media studies and had a bright future ahead of her.
The last time anyone saw Jenna, she was seen leaving a Philadelphia bar with Joshua Hupperterz, a former Temple University student. Jenna’s body was discovered on September 2nd, 2017, and a report from the coroner would reveal that she had been strangled, and been the victim of blunt-force trauma. Security footage would show that she had left the pub with Hupperterz, and the authorities would quickly make their way to his apartment that he shared with roommate Jack Miley. Inside they would find blood stains and drugs. But things would only get murkier as the investigation continued.
Jenna Burleigh and Josh Hupperterz during Action News Mornings on September 3, 2017 | Image via ABC7
Murder of Jenna Burleigh’s Trial Explained
It only took a couple of hours of deliberation for the jury at the trial of Hupperterz to find him guilty of the murder of Jenna. He was given a sentence of life without parole, and jurors heard that Jenna had left with Huopperterz and gone to his apartment where he would beat and strangle her to death, allegedly after refusing to take part in a sexual act.
Jenna’s body was stuffed in a bin that Hupperterz would take to his grandparents’ rural property. However, his defense would argue the case that it was his roommate who had murdered Jenna, and in nearly two hours of closing arguments, defense lawyer David Nenner tried to convince the jury that Hupperterz had not committed the murder.
During the trial, Hupperterz would plead not guilty to murder and using an instrument of a crime, but conceded to abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. He was found guilty on all the charges and his defense that it was the roommate who killed Jenna did not sway the jury in any way.
How did Joshua Hupperterz’s roommate Jack Miley testify?
With the defense leaning heavily into the allegation that it was he who committed the crime, Jack Miley would provide evidence that at the time of the murder he had passed out after a night of drinking, smoking cannabis, and taking 1mg of Xanax. This resulted in him being unaware of the murder taking place downstairs. During his testimony, Miley would state he never met Jenna, and after the murder, he would see Hupperterz cleaning blood in their shared apartment kitchen. Hupperterz would say he fell in a bush and cut himself, and Miley accepted the story.
Text messages revealed at the trial would show Miley sending jokes to friends about the state that Hupperterz had been in. Miley had left for the holiday weekend but had then been contacted by the police. He later went on to say that Hupperterz changed his story about the night of the murder. The defense would try to pin the murder on Miley, but he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
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