A homeless woman fatally — and gruesomely — butchered a homeless shelter worker before she was seen wiping blood off her hands, Vermont authorities alleged this week.
Zaaina Asra Zakirrah Mahvish-Jammeh is accused of taking a small ax to social worker Leah Rosin-Pritchard inside a Vermont shelter Monday, police said, according to reports.
A scream was heard inside the facility before other workers saw a woman attack Rosin-Pritchard, according to an affidavit from Brattleboro police, the VT Digger reported.
Rosin-Pritchard was found dead on the shelter’s kitchen floor with severe face, neck and torso wounds and Mahvish-Jammeh was spotted in a nearby room “wiping blood off her hands with a paper towel,” the affidavit reportedly states.
Mahvish-Jammeh, 38, was talking to the 36-year-old victim as she swung the small ax — bought Saturday — before the attack, authorities said.
“The short conversation they had was very muffled and hard to hear,” police Detective Sgt. Greg Eaton wrote in the affidavit, according to the VT Digger. “But it was clear there was no argument before I could hear thudding and the screaming.”
One unnamed man told the Brattleboro Reformer he hasn’t been able to sleep since witnessing the slaying.
“It was a f—–g brutal savage f—–g murder,” the witness said. “I haven’t been able to sleep. Because every time I close my eyes, I see that s—.”
Mahvish-Jammeh told another worker after the attack she didn’t like Rosin-Pritchard, the affidavit alleged, according to Fox News Digital. She then continued to attack the victim even as she already lay on the floor, according to the affidavit.
The suspect pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge Tuesday.
Rosin-Pritchard is “irreplaceable,” and the shelter won’t be the same without her, Groundworks, the organization that runs the facility, said in a statement on Facebook.
“She was a wonderfully strong, positive, beautiful and compassionate person who gave generously of her spirit and skills in support of all Morningside House residents and her professional colleagues,” it stated.
“There are no words to express the depth of loss felt by her Groundworks teammates and residents. Our hearts go out to her family, friends and the broader Brattleboro community who knew her.”