The boyfriend of a teenage stabbing suspect had sent explicit photos to one or both of the victims, apparently prompting an altercation that would ultimately lead to the deadly stabbing in Jamaica Plain over the weekend, prosecutors said during an arraignment for the 16-year-old facing a murder charge.
The teenage suspect, identified in a criminal complaint as Wilmary Mejia, was taken into custody a block away from where the double stabbing allegedly happened on Woodside Avenue Saturday afternoon, according to police, and taken to a hospital before being placed under arrest.
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A 17-year-old girl was at a hospital recovering, while a 21-year-old woman died from her injuries, Boston police said, adding that both victims were stabbed multiple times.
The woman who died has been identified as Brianna Brown, a law enforcement source told NBC10 Boston.
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Officers with BPD said they got the call for the stabbing minutes before 5 p.m., but before officers arrived on scene, the two victims showed up at a nearby police station with stab wounds.
"It's just unfortunate you know?" said a man named Joseph who works at a nearby convenience store and has lived in the area for decades. "People dying in the neighborhood over ridiculous stuff, it's a shame."
Sixteen-year-old Wilmary Mejia is being charged with murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, according to a criminal complaint obtained by NBC10 Boston.
The complaint said that Mejia traveled to the scene and "engaged in a physical altercation with both victims" while in possession of a "sharp instrument." She was placed under arrest while in the hospital, where she was being treated for a laceration to her left hand, according to the complaint.
Mejia appeared in Boston Municipal Court in West Roxbury on Monday. She appeared in regular session, not juvenile court, per Massachusetts law.
"It appears that the defendant's boyfriend had sent some explicit pictures to the victims in this case — one or the other, maybe both," assistant district attorney Nathan McGregor said. "And that was a problem for the defendant. The defendant sought to fight one or both of the victims and she made her way to their neighborhood from her home."
McGregor said that Mejia brought with her two male friends, one or both of whom tried to dissuade her from carrying out her plan, "but she made clear several times she was there to fight."
The victims appeared on scene with one of their male friends or relatives, McGregor continued, and there was an altercation between Mejia and the two victims — both of whom suffered stab wounds to the chest, while the victim who died also had a stab wound to her neck, according to prosecutors.
The two victims went to a police station across the street for help, while Mejia and her boyfriend left the scene, prosecutors said. The pair was found hiding from police in a construction area, prosecutors also alleged.
"Issues like self defense...heat of passion, all may play a role in this horrible, horrible incident," a public defender representing Mejia said. "And if it does play a role, we're thinking more along the lines of self defense, maybe manslaughter, maybe even legitimate not guilty to this horrible event."
A judge ordered that Mejia be held without bail.
Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden issued a statement following Monday's court hearing.
"The scope of this tragedy is immense," he said. "One young woman is dead, another is seriously injured, and a third is entering a life-altering journey through the court system. The trauma of this incident touches all of them, and all of their families. It also touches anyone who hopes and prays for a community less beset by pain and loss."
The victim who died has not been identified by authorities. The investigation is ongoing.
