Balloons and a sign left at Ramsay Park in Boston on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in memory of Celia Simmons, who was fatally stabbed there two days earlier.
A woman has been charged with first-degree murder in a daylight stabbing at a Boston park last month, prosecutors said Monday, sharing new details about the killing.
Rasheedah Hughes was ordered held without bail after her arraignment in Boston Municipal Court's Roxbury courthouse Monday, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. She's accused of killing Celia Simmons on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Ramsey Park.
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Simmons, who's been remembered as a caring member of the community, is believed to have been killed after a fight that escalated. Prosecutors say that Hughes brandished a boxcutter and that Simmons hit her with her cane, and that Hughes left, only to come back with what was witnesses called a large knife.
Hughes allegedly stabbed Simmons repeatedly — the 65-year-old's stabbing was reported about 12:48 p.m. and officers found her stabbed multiple times.
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Investigators identified Hughes through interviews with witness, video and more, according to prosecutors. Police said over the weekend that she was arrested Friday afternoon on Hammond Street, which leads to Ramsay Park.
It wasn't immediately clear if she had an attorney who could speak to her murder charge — the 40-year-old is due back in court Jan. 23.
"This appears to be a middle-of-the-day altercation that went to the very worst of extremes," District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. "As we see time and again, this type of quick, careless decision-making ends lives and ruins others. My sympathies go out to the family and friends of Celia Simmons as we begin the process of seeking accountability for the person charged with her death."
Nichole Powell has told NBC10 Boston that Simmons, whom she met while living in a shelter, didn't deserve what happened to her.
"She's a good person. She's a decent lady," Powell said.
