A Massachusetts woman has been sentenced to up to two decades in prison for the fatal stabbing of a 21-year-old mother following a social media feud that escalated into violence during their first in-person encounter.
Associate Superior Court Judge Mary K. Ames on Wednesday ordered 33-year-old Alyssa Partsch to serve between 15 and 20 years in a state correctional facility for the 2023 killing of Jazreanna A. Sheppard Gonzalez. The sentence came after Partsch reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter.
Partsch had originally been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the incident, which took place on the night of July 20, 2023, in downtown Boston.
According to the Boston Police Department, officers responded to reports of a stabbing near the 100 block of Tremont Street at around 11:34 p.m. When first responders arrived at the scene, they found Sheppard suffering from severe stab wounds.
Emergency medical personnel rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
Earlier that evening, prosecutors said Sheppard had been spending time with a friend at Boston Common near the Brewer Fountain before the two began walking toward the Park Street MBTA station.
Authorities said the deadly encounter was preceded by hostile exchanges between Partsch and Sheppard on social media.
“Both witness testimony and documentary evidence indicate that prior to July 20, Sheppard and Partsch engaged in a series of social media exchanges where Partsch threatened Sheppard and was seeking to entice her to fight,” prosecutors stated. “Evidence indicates that the two had not met in person prior to that day.”
As Sheppard approached the station pavilion, Partsch confronted her while armed with a knife. Surveillance footage captured the confrontation between the two women before the violence escalated.
Prosecutors said Partsch “stabbed Sheppard several times in the face, head, and torso” before fleeing the area through the MBTA system.
Investigators later relied on surveillance video and witness testimony to reconstruct the events and identify Partsch as the suspect. She was eventually arrested months later on November 4, 2023, after authorities located her in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
During the sentencing hearing, members of Sheppard’s family shared emotional victim impact statements. One relative described her as “a deeply loved human being,” adding that “her heart was poured into everyone around her.”
Judge Ames also addressed Partsch directly during the hearing, highlighting the impact of the crime.
“And I hope now that you see the consequences of what you’ve done to this family,” the judge said. “A child who will not grow up knowing his mother except through this beautiful family who will keep her memory alive.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden described the killing as “a senseless, impossible-to-understand moment of violence,” while also praising the victim’s family for their strength and their “heart-rending expression of their love and their loss.”
Partsch entered her guilty plea just weeks before her trial was scheduled to begin.
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