A heated social media feud turned deadly in Boston — and now the woman responsible will spend years behind bars.
A Massachusetts woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the brutal stabbing death of a 21-year-old mother, a case that has left a family shattered and a young child without his mom.
Alyssa Partsch, 33, was sentenced to 15 to 20 years in state prison, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors say the violence unfolded late at night on July 20, 2023, near Boston Common.
Jazreanna Sheppard, 21, and a friend were leaving the park around 11:30 p.m. when they crossed paths with Partsch near the Park Street MBTA station. The two women had never met in person before — but had been locked in a heated back-and-forth on social media.
Authorities say the online exchanges escalated quickly, with Partsch allegedly threatening Sheppard and attempting to lure her into a fight.
Moments later, things turned violent.
As Sheppard and her friend walked toward the subway entrance, Partsch allegedly approached with a knife. Surveillance footage captured the two getting into a physical altercation — and then, in a horrifying instant, Partsch stabbed Sheppard multiple times in the face, head, and torso.
After the attack, Partsch fled the scene.
Sheppard was rushed to the hospital but did not survive her injuries.
Partsch was later arrested on November 4, 2023, months after the deadly encounter. She had been scheduled to go to trial this month before ultimately pleading guilty.
During sentencing, Judge Mary Ames called out the senseless nature of the crime, pointing to the devastating impact it left behind.
“It’s the senselessness of this act,” she said, noting that Sheppard’s child will now grow up without ever truly knowing his mother.
In court, loved ones remembered Sheppard as a compassionate and deeply loved young woman whose life was cut short far too soon.
“She was a deeply loved human being,” her cousin said, describing how she poured her heart into everyone around her.
Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden echoed those sentiments, saying Sheppard was remembered as a devoted daughter, sister, cousin, and mother taken in a moment of violence that’s “impossible to understand.”
