BOSTON (WHDH) - A woman charged for the stabbing death of a victim on Boston Common over the summer appeared in court Monday and was ordered to be held without bail.
The court decision came days after Weymouth resident Alyssa Partsch, 30, was arrested over the weekend for her alleged role in the death of 21-year-old Jazreanna Sheppard of South Boston.
Authorities said Partsch was taken into custody on Saturday morning. Tempers then flared on Monday when the families of Partsch and Sheppard came face to face in court.
Police originally found Sheppard suffering from multiple stab wounds the night of July 20 outside of Park Street station on the Boston Common.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, surveillance video of the incident showed Partsch approach Sheppard while holding a knife and then stab her numerous times in the head and neck.
Prosecutors said the two women did not know each other aside from messages exchanged on social media. Partsch, prosecutors said, was enticing Sheppard into a fight.
Sheppard’s family watched as Partsch pleaded not guilty to a charge of second degree murder on Monday. They said the fight between Partsch and their loved one was over someone she was dating.
Emotions soon spilled from the courtroom to a parking garage, where Boston police responded to separate a crowd of both families.
“This is the worst thing anybody could ever go through,” one family member said. “That’s all I can say…My sister died before she could even turn 22.”
Partsch is due back in court later this month.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden issued a statement, in the meantime, saying, “It’s difficult to comprehend what could possibly motivate the violent actions that ended one young woman’s promising life, dramatically altered the defendant’s life and threw the families and friends of both into grief and mourning and infinite loss.”
“In this case, as in too many others, we’re witnessing the endless agony forged by just a few seconds of terrible, tragic decision making,” Hayden continued.
(Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)