Crazy homeless woman beats homeless shelter coordinator to death with an ax at Vermont shelter

An insane homeless woman living in a Vermont shelter pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday after she was accused of beating a dispatcher to death with an ax and knife.

Zaaina Mahvish-Jammeh, 38, remained silent during her trial in Brattleboro court when her lawyer gave the oral argument. The brutal murder took place at around 9:30 a.m. Monday at a facility known as the Morningside House, which is run by a group called the town’s Groundworks.

Investigators say Mahvish-Jammeh bought the “hunter’s axe” from a local hardware store two days before the murder. The victim has been named as 36-year-old Leah Rosin-Pritchard, a native of Rhode Island.

The suspect previously had an active YouTube channel, in one video Mahvish-Jammeh is shown making a frozen cocktail by repeatedly stabbing the ice with a huge knife.

In an interview with the reformer of Brattleboro, a witness to Monday’s attack described it as a “f*****g brutal, savage f*****g murder.”

‘I couldn’t sleep. Because every time I close my eyes I see that s***,” the witness added.

According to the indictment, Mahvish-Jammeh specifically requested a meeting with Rosin-Pritchard prior to the attack. Witnesses heard her scream, “I like you, it’s Leah I don’t like.”

According to the documents, the victim was found dead in the kitchen of the house with injuries to her torso, neck and face.

When the police arrived on the scene, the suspect was wiping her hands from the blood with kitchen paper.

Witnesses told investigators they heard screams coming from the dining room of the house, when they went to see what was going on, they saw Mahvish-Jammeh repeatedly punch Rosin-Pritchard.

They told police they had yelled at the suspect to stop, but were afraid of getting too close to her.

Her tragic death was captured by the home’s security cameras. The footage apparently shows Mahvish-Jammeh walking into the house with a sheet over her right shoulder, holding the axe.

Under the sheet, the suspect was wearing a black hoodie, overalls, goggles and black slippers.

‘I heard screaming. I come down the stairs. I look around where the dining room table is, and there’s a body on the floor, and I couldn’t even tell who it was. That’s how badly the face was destroyed,” the anonymous witness, 66, told the reformer.

She looked up at me and then went down to punch [the victim] a few more times in the face,’ he continued.

The suspect then took off her clothes and was seen wearing a bunny ear headband, blue socks and gray sweatpants.

The witness further claimed that Mahvish-Jammeh had attacked twice in the past, once with a wooden suggestion box and once with her fists.

‘[Mahvish-Jammeh] has serious mental health issues, and they’ve put her in a house that isn’t equipped for that and the staff isn’t trained for that.

“I told them two months ago that this was going to happen, and they didn’t listen. It was only a matter of time before she picked up a butcher knife. The only thing I was wrong about was her choice of weapon. It should never have happened, and now a good person is dead,” he continued.

The witness described the 30-bed shelter where the attack took place as not set up to treat people with Mahvish-Jammeh’s level of mental illness. Families with children are accommodated in the building.

“I’m sure there will be a lot of community conversations about this case in the future, but at this point I would ask people to focus on the facts that Leah Rosin-Pritchard lost her life,” Windham’s lawyer said. County, Tracy Shriver, to the media. .

Shriver said the suspect had been living in the residence since the summer of 2022. That same year she was interviewed by the reformer for an article about the city’s homeless population.

“I love Vermont,” she told the newspaper, adding that she felt safe in Brattleboro. The suspect said she came to the area through Plattsburgh, New York.

In 2020, Mahvish-Jammeh was interviewed by NBC5 in Upstate New York on the Plattsburgh mask mandates.

“The reason why I support it is because I like masks in my lifestyle, in my personal lifestyle. I’m happy to participate. Especially when it’s handmade, I think it’s really cute,” she said at the time.

Online records show that Mahvish-Jammeh previously lived in Brooklyn, New York, and in Orange County, California. Her only offense was a minor misdemeanor that occurred in California and the charges were dropped soon after.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered Mahvish-Jammeh to undergo a mental evaluation because her lawyer speculated she might not be fit to stand trial for first-degree murder. She is being held without bail.

Leah Rosin-Pritchard is irreplaceable. She was a wonderfully strong, positive, beautiful and compassionate individual who gave generously of her spirit and skills in support of all Morningside House residents and her professional colleagues,” said a statement from Groundwork Collaborative.

“There are no words to express the great loss felt by her Groundworks teammates and our hearts go out to her family and friends,” it continued.

Rosin-Pritchard has worked at the home since early 2022, where she started as a social worker and was recently promoted to coordinator.

She graduated from Rhode Island College in 2019 with a degree in social work and previously worked at the Amos House and for the Izzy Foundation in her home state, reports WJAR.

“As I embark on my second career in social work, I believe in implementing everything I’ve learned so far and integrating my skills into a space where I can be of service to the community,” Rosin-Pritchard wrote. her LinkedIn page.

In her strengths, she wrote, “Harmony, Woo, Adaptability, Includer, Communication.”

On that page, the victim also wrote about her interest in baking.

Before taking up social work, Rosin-Pritchard worked as a volleyball coach at Middletown High School in Rhode Island, reports The magazine of Providence.

‘She was great. The kids adored her. She knew the sport and did a great job. When she left, we were sad,” said the school’s athletics director, Karen Massaro.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around this, knowing how much the people who work in these shelters give. It’s just so sad to know where she was and what she was trying to do,” she added.