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The victim, a young South Boston mother, was described as a “deeply loved human being.”
Alyssa Partsch, 33, is arraigned on murder charges in Suffolk Superior Court. Suffolk County Superior Court
A Dorchester woman was sentenced Wednesday for fatally stabbing a South Boston mother in 2023, after they had been arguing online, officials said.
Alyssa Partsch, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Suffolk County Superior Court on Wednesday. Her plea was part of a plea deal that adjusted her original second-degree murder charge to manslaughter, court documents show.
Partsch was sentenced to 15 to 20 years in state prison, court documents show.
The Dorchester native was accused of stabbing a woman — identified by prosecutors as Jazreanna Sheppard, 21 — near Boston Common in July 2023, prosecutors wrote in statement of the case filed in court.
Leading up to the killing, the defendant and Sheppard were involved in a heated online feud. Partsch threatened Sheppard and tried to entice her into a fight, prosecutors said.
Jazreanna Sheppard was fatally stabbed at the Park Street MBTA station on July 20. – The Gonzalez Family
The two women had never met each other in person prior to the stabbing, the office of Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a press release.
The night of July 20, 2023, Sheppard and a friend were walking in Boston Common. They exited towards one of the Park Street MBTA stops. As Sheppard continued to the MBTA pavilion, Partsch approached her with a knife, prosecutors wrote in the court filing.
Video surveillance showed that the victim and the defendant began fighting, then Partch stabbed Sheppard in the head, face, and torso, Hayden’s office said.
Partsch fled through the Park Street station. Sheppard was taken to Tufts Medical Center, where she died from her injuries, prosecutors wrote.
Partsch was arrested in November 2023, Boston.com previously reported.
During the sentencing, Sheppard’s family read aloud a victim impact statement, calling her a “deeply loved human being.”
Judge Mary Ames spoke to Partsch before she handed down the sentence.
“It’s the senselessness of this act, the senselessness of the act that you committed, Ms. Partsch. And I hope now that you see the consequences of what you’ve done to this family — a child who will not grow up knowing his mother except through this beautiful family who will keep her memory alive,” Ames said.
Partsch previously pleaded guilty to another violent crime nearly six years prior, court documents show.
In 2017, she was arrested for mayhem and assault and battery using a dangerous weapon. Her mayhem charge was later dismissed, court documents indicate.
According to the indictment, Partsch used a knife to cause “serious bodily injury” to the victim.
Partsch was sentenced to two years in prison for the assault, court filings show.
Attorneys for Partsch did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.
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