Who Killed Julia Niswender? Michigan Student Found Dead In Bathtub At Her Off-Campus Apartment

At the end of 2012, a 23-year-old student at Eastern Michigan University failed to show up for work and she missed a friend’s Christmas party. Fearing the worst, loved ones contacted police.

On Dec. 11 of that year, Julia Niswender was found dead in the bathtub in her off-campus apartment in Ypsilanti. An autopsy determined Niswender died of asphyxiation from drowning, and detectives noted during the investigation that the victim’s body was in an unnatural position at the time of her death.

“The manner in which she was placed in the bathtub was definitely not consistent with somebody just getting in and taking a bath,” Joe Yuhas, the former lead detective on the case, told Detroit’s WXYZ-TV.

Police still have not caught whoever is responsible for murdering Niswender.

“She was like a shining star, she loved her family, she loved her friends, she was passionate about helping people, helping animals, but very much loved her family and she would do anything for us,” Kim Turnquist said in December 2022 — 10 years after her daughter’s death, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Family, in turn, continue to do everything they can to shine a light on the case so they can help bring Niswender’s killer to justice. According to Turnquist, police believe the perpetrator likely spent hours in her daughter’s apartment before committing the murder.

“She was facedown, partially nude,” Turnquist said, WDIV-TV reported. “Her phone was thrown in the bathtub. Her pants were cut off of her and she was bound at her wrists and at her ankles. There was two [males’] DNA found.”

Although the apartment had been ransacked, nothing appeared to be missing except for a dresser drawer and a pillowcase.

Turnquist said she learned there was video of a male pacing outside the victim’s apartment prior to the attack.

“We did see an individual pacing back and forth in front of the office,” Yuhas confirmed to WXYZ-TV. “And to this day, we don't know for a fact whether this individual was involved or not involved, but a lot of the stars lined up.”

The footage reportedly was already recorded over by the time investigators went to recover it from the complex where the crime occurred.

There reportedly were no signs of forced entry into Niswender’s apartment. Police theorized the person who attacked the student may have gained entry into her unit after she returned from taking out the trash, Turnquist said.

Despite detectives collecting DNA evidence during the investigation, they have not gotten any matches. Turnquist and family have said they would like to see the Michigan State Police take over the investigation into the murder.

“A lot of those thoughts keep me up at night, like, her last moments and what she said, what she did, the struggle,” said Jennifer Niswender, the victim’s twin sister, WDIV-TV reported. “She did not deserve this at all, and I miss her every day.”

The family urges anyone who may know something about the case to contact Crime Stoppers at (800) SPEAK-UP — (800) 773-2587. There is a reward offered for any information that leads to an arrest, and callers can remain anonymous.

“Help us help Julia,” Turnquist said, saying her daughter deserves it. “She's the one who had to suffer and spend that day with that monster."

For more on this case, stream Still A Mystery: "TV Dreams Cut Short" on Max.