Shivangi Sinha
In 2017, Jenna Burleigh enjoyed a night out with friends, full of anticipation for her future as a young college student. A few days later, her body was discovered in a shed of a residence located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Hulu’s ‘Death in the Dorms’ Season 2 thoroughly investigates this case, delving into the details as investigators work to reconstruct the events and apprehend the perpetrator while also uncovering the motives behind the crime.
Jenna Burleigh Enjoyed a Night-Out With Friends Before Her Death
Jenna Burleigh, born on November 4, 1994, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, had a nurturing upbringing in a family that included her parents, a sister, and two brothers. She was deeply devoted to her family and cherished spending time with them. After graduating from Souderton Area High School in 2013, she pursued higher education, earning an associate degree in liberal arts from Montgomery County Community College. Driven by her aspiration to become a director in the film industry, she enrolled at Temple University with a major in film and media studies.
Jenna actively used her voice to advocate for causes close to her heart, including the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, addressing homelessness, speaking out against racism, and passionately fighting against sexism. As an ambitious young woman, she aimed to make a positive impact on the world. During her first week at the University, the 22-year-old made plans for a night out with friends and requested her father to drop her off at a friend’s house near the Main Campus.
The following day, Jenna did not attend her classes, prompting her father to file a missing person report by evening. Missing posters were distributed and shared across various social media groups. Upon reviewing surveillance footage, the police identified the last location she was witnessed at, near Pub Webb, at 2 am on August 31, 2017. On September 2, her lifeless body was discovered in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, concealed in a shed on a lakefront property. The coroner’s report revealed that she had succumbed to a combination of blunt-force trauma and strangulation.
Blood Stains and Drugs Led the Police to The Killer
On September 1, 2017, Jack Miley, residing in an apartment on 16th Street near Cecil B. Moore Avenue, reported discovering cleaning products and what seemed to be cleaned-up blood in his residence. This apartment was located just a few blocks away from the pub where Jenna Burleigh was last seen. In response, the police obtained a search warrant and searched the apartment, which was shared by Miley and a former Temple University student named Joshua Hupperterz. Security footage from the pub also revealed her leaving the pub with him.
During the search of the apartment, the police discovered blood in the sink, on a door, and on the trash can lid. Additionally, a substantial amount of marijuana and approximately $20,000 in cash were found. Joshua was not present at the apartment when the search was conducted. When contacted by the police and questioned about Jenna, he claimed to be heavily intoxicated and unable to recall much from the night. Subsequently, the police located him at his grandmother’s residence in Wayne County, the same location where Jenna’s body had been recovered.
The DNA recovered from her fingernails also matched Joshua. Following the interrogation, the police proposed a theory suggesting that Joshua and Jenna initially met at the pub. As her friends departed, she opted to continue spending time with him. The two consumed a considerable amount of alcohol before heading to his apartment. According to the police’s account, they engaged in consensual sexual activity on the morning of August 31. However, the situation turned when she allegedly declined to participate in a specific sexual act.
The police alleged that in a drunken stupor, Joshua became violent. They had the medical report, which attested that Jenna had been punched about 38 times, was hit on the head with something heavy, stabbed repeatedly with a knife, and then strangled and killed. According to the police report, he allegedly placed her body in a plastic blue box and transported it to his mother’s residence nearby. From there, he purportedly booked a Lyft ride to his grandmother’s place, where he disposed of her body in a shed. Joshua faced a range of charges, including murder, abuse of corpse, tampering with evidence, and other offenses related to drug possession.
Joshua Hupperterz is Serving a Life Sentence Today
Before his trial, in early January 2019, Joshua Hupperterz entered a guilty plea for abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. His defense team asserted that he played no role in Jenna Burleigh’s murder, placing the blame on his roommate, Jack Miley. However, he was ultimately found guilty of first-degree murder and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Currently 35 years old, he is serving his sentence at the Forest State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania.
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