RI woman, former Middletown volleyball coach, killed at Vermont shelter where she worked

A former Rhode Island woman who was killed in an ax attack at a Vermont homeless shelter this week was described by those who knew her as kind, smart and compassionate.

Leah Rosin-Pritchard touched a lot of lives in Rhode Island with her varied background as a high school volleyball coach, baker, instructor and social worker.

In what she described as her second career, Rosin-Pritchard was working as the coordinator at the Morningside House shelter in Brattleboro when she was killed, allegedly by a shelter resident.

Leah Rosin-Pritchard's background in Rhode Island

A graduate of North Kingstown High School and Rhode Island College, Rosin-Pritchard had worked in Rhode Island as the volleyball coach at Middletown High School, an intern at Amos House, and an instructor at Newport Cooks.

Rosin-Pritchard, an all-state high school volleyball player in 2004, took the coaching job at Middletown High School in 2013 with no previous coaching experience. She took to coaching quickly, Karen Massaro, the school's athletic director, said Wednesday.

"She was great. The kids loved her," Massaro said. "She knew the sport and did a great job. When she left, we were sad."

Massaro had been coach of the volleyball team, but had to give it up when she became athletic director. Rosin-Pritchard replaced her, coaching from 2013 through 2015.

The news of Rosin-Pritchard's death on Monday dealt a hard emotional blow to several school staffers, Massaro said. Her father, David Pritchard, was a longtime teacher and coach at the school. He was his daughter's assistant volleyball coach and also returned after retirement to volunteer as a basketball coach, Massaro said.

"This family gives," Massaro said. "It's very hard knowing what they're going through with everything they've given to their communities."

Rosin-Pritchard could teach teenagers to play volleyball and she could also teach people to cook. She worked for several years as an adjunct chef/instructor at Newport Cooks, a culinary school in Middletown, according to owner Mary Weaver.

"Leah was even-keeled, professional, kind, generous, smart, well spoken, talented and truly genuine – to herself and others – to the core," Weaver said via email.

She also owned Leah's Recipe, a healthy-snacks baking company, according to Weaver.

"I'm in shock over her tragic death and the circumstances," Weaver said.

Rosin-Pritchard interned with Amos House, worked at Vermont shelter

On her LinkedIn page, Rosin-Pritchard described herself as "a former baker, coach and entrepreneur." She wrote that she was a December 2020 graduate of Tulane University's master of social work program with a certificate in disaster and collective trauma.

"Beginning my second career in social work, I believe in implementing all I have learned thus far and integrating my skills in a space where I can be of service to the community," she wrote.

While working toward her master's degree, Rosin-Pritchard interned in 2020 at Amos House, a Providence nonprofit agency that serves the homeless, unemployed and poor.

“Leah was an amazing person, and we are devastated to hear of her death," Amos House president and CEO Eileen Hayes said in a statement. "While at Amos House as an MSW intern, she showed so much compassion and empathy for those we serve. We will remember her as the smart, loving and hardworking member of our team that she was."

"This is a terrible loss for all those who were fortunate enough to know Leah, and our thoughts are with her loved ones during this time," Hayes said.

The operator of the shelter where Rosin-Pritchard was killed, Groundworks Collaborative, issued a statement on Facebook Tuesday.

"Leah Rosin-Pritchard is irreplaceable. 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," the post says. "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."

Suspect in her death charged with first-degree murder

A shelter resident, Zaaina Asra Zakirrah Mahvish-Jammeh, 38, was charged with first-degree murder in Rosin-Pritchard's killing, VTDigger reported. She pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Tuesday, was held without bail and ordered to have a mental health evaluation, the publication reported.

Rosin-Pritchard was allegedly killed by somebody she was trying to help.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around this, knowing how much the people who work in these shelters give," Massaro said. "It's just so sad knowing where she was and what she was trying to do."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI woman killed in Vermont ax attack