Woman with Rhode Island ties dies in ax attack at Vermont homeless shelter she coordinated

A resident of a Battleboro, Vermont homeless shelter, Morningside House, killed the coordinator, social worker Leah Rosin-Pritchard. Rosin-Pritchard, 38, was a Rhode Island College graduate and had many Rhode Island ties, particularly in the culinary world.

Rosin-Pritchard was a well known chef, and began a company called Leah’s Recipe. She was a participating chef with Newport Cooks, a cooking school specializing in cooking workshops for adults and children. She also, several years ago, produced healthy, organic snacks for sale.

In 2020 she worked as an intern for Amos House in Providence, and had a history of working in homeless shelters and programs both in Rhode Island and in Louisiana, where she received her MSW.

The resident, Zaaina Asra Zakirrah Mahvish-Jammeh, 38, is believed to have bought a hunting hatchet over the weekend at a local hardware store. According to the Vermont Digger, the incident was captured on video. There appeared to be no altercation or argument between the two, at the 30-bed shelter. The attack left Rosin-Pritchard dead on the kitchen floor from injuries to her face, neck and torso. Her attacker was found in the nearby living room, “wiping blood off of her hands with a paper towel,” according to authorities. She is being held without bail and charges were raised from second-degree to first-degree murder after a judge viewed the surveillance tape.

According to the Vermont Differ, Rosin-Pritchard had joined the Groundworks Collaborative that operates the shelter in October 2021, serving as Morningside House’s case manager for a year before becoming its coordinator in October 2022.

Rosin-Pritchard earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Rhode Island College in 2019 and a master’s with a certificate in disaster and collective trauma from Tulane University in 2020. She interned with programs addressing hunger and homelessness after previous stints as a baker, coach, landscaper and business consultant.

“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 on her LinkedIn page.

Groundworks issued a statement calling Rosin-Pritchard “beloved,” “irreplaceable” and “wonderfully strong, positive, beautiful and compassionate. Our staff and our program participants are grieving,” the statement said.

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Chef Leah Rosin-Pritchard sold her items in 12 locations throughout Rhode Island, and ran her business out of the Hope & Main food-business incubator in Warren.

Updated 4/11/2023

Obituary provides us with more details about Leah:

After Leah graduated from North Kingstown High School in 2004, she went on a wonderful journey of education, entrepreneurship, travel, horticulture and culinary mastery— living in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Vermont & Rhode Island. Leah coached volleyball at Middletown High School, owned and operated Leah’s Recipe, LLC, produced medical cannabis, taught adult cooking classes, cooked regularly for the community at the MLK Center in Newport, RI and co-founded the Jamestown, RI Farmers Market. Leah went on to earn her Bachelor’s in Social Work from Rhode Island College, and earned a Master’s degree in Social Work from Tulane University with a certificate in Disaster and Collective Trauma. Leah dedicated her life to the service and betterment of others, most recently as a Shelter Coordinator at Groundworks Collaborative.

Leah grew up in Jamestown, Rhode Island. She and her family home were an integral part of the island community– always welcoming a broad group of friends, and family members with an open door.

Leah excelled at academics, always graduating in the top tier of her class – clearly bound to make a difference in the world and leave an impact. She poured her seemingly endless energy into many jobs, activities, events, and hobbies, always keeping busy while still somehow managing to bake everyone’s birthday cakes, drop off care packages and stay up-to-date on newly released music for her sidebar DJ career.

Service to others was a core part of Leah’s upbringing, and when she realized her calling into Social Work, it was a natural fit and progression of her life’s mission. She spent the last couple years of her life working serving the Brattleboro, Vermont community, where she strove to better the lives of shelter residents and offer a compassionate hand.

Leah’s green thumb and solid work ethic served her well while diving into homestead life. Most recently, Leah and her partner Alex bought a small property in Westminster, Vermont, where they grew vegetables, raised goats and chickens and quickly learned the art of making goat milk products.

Leah was the warmth and light in every room she entered. As a dedicated daughter, sister, and friend, she nurtured her community with her culinary talents, deep listening, and thoughtful care-taking. Gifts were Leah’s love language. She always arrived with a thoughtful offering in hand– usually home-baked and always perfectly suited to the recipient. As a capable, brilliant and beautiful woman, Leah supported her family, friends, co-workers and community with every breath.

Leah loved her parents and brother deeply, and the generosity of spirit that was the keystone of her personality was a direct reflection of their parents’ loving upbringing, This was exemplified by the in-home care she and Alex provided for her paternal-grandmother during the pandemic. Leah walked through life with integrity and love, and everyone who knew her is better for it.

Survived by partner, Alex Margolies, mother, Paula Rosin, father, Dave Pritchard, brother, Evan Rosin-Pritchard, sister-in-law Afia Dansoaah and newborn niece Zhuri. Leah also leaves behind a close-knit extended family of beloved aunts and uncles – Andrea and Mario Mattia; Marian Rosin; Chris Pritchard and Chuck Bell, Lisa Pritchard and Ken Dolbashian – and cousins Jen, Niki, Ari, Kai and Oona – with whom she shared rich memories, along with a dear friend community.

To honor Leah’s memory, the family asks that you practice compassion, empathy and kindness and, as her great-grandmother used to say, “Be ever mindful of the needs of others.”

A wake will be held on the beach at Fort Getty, Jamestown, from 4-7pm on Saturday, April 15th.