Dorchester woman sentenced for fatal stabbing over online feud

A Dorchester woman was sentenced Wednesday for the stabbing death of a South Boston mother in 2023 after they got into an online fight, officials said.

Alyssa Bartsch, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Suffolk County Superior Court on Wednesday. Her confession was part of a plea deal that amended the original second-degree murder charge to manslaughter, court documents show.

Bartsch was sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison, court documents show.

The Dorchester native was accused of stabbing a woman — identified by prosecutors as Jaziriana Sheppard, 21 — near Boston Common in July 2023, prosecutors wrote in a statement of the case filed in court.

Prior to the murder, defendant and Sheppard were involved in a heated online dispute. Prosecutors said Partch threatened Sheppard and tried to lure her into a fight.

The two women had not met each other in person before the stabbing, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said in a news release.

On the night of July 20, 2023, Shepard and a friend were walking on Boston Common. They walked out toward one of the Park Street MBTA stations. As Sheppard continued on her way to the MBTA pavilion, Partch approached her with a knife, prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

Hayden’s office said video surveillance showed the victim and defendant began fighting, and Partch then stabbed Sheppard in the head, face and torso.

Partch fled via Park Street station. Shepard was taken to Tufts Medical Center, where she died from her injuries, prosecutors wrote.

Partch was arrested in November 2023, Boston.com previously reported.

During the sentencing, Sheppard’s family read aloud a victim impact statement, describing her as a “deeply loved human being.”

Judge Mary Ames spoke to Bartsch before handing down the ruling.

“It is the foolishness of this act, the foolishness of the act you have committed, Mrs. Partch. And I hope now you will see the consequences of what you have done to this family – a child who will only grow up knowing his mother through this beautiful family who will keep her memory alive.”

Bartsch previously pleaded guilty to another violent crime nearly six years ago, court documents showed.

In 2017, she was arrested on charges of mayhem and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Court documents indicate that her chaos charge was later dropped.

According to the indictment, Partch used a knife to cause “serious bodily injury” to the victim.

Bartsch was sentenced to two years in prison for the assault, court files show.

Bartsch’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.