‘Explicit’ photos tied to murder
16-year-old to be tried as an adult
“Explicit” photos are being tied to a 16-year-old girl’s murder case the DA says is an “immense tragedy” that has altered the lives of three young city women forever.
Wilmary Mejia was ordered held without bail at her arraignment Monday in West Roxbury District Court. She’s accused of fatally stabbing one woman and injuring another teen on Woodside Avenue in Jamaica Plain around 5 p.m. Saturday.
“She went (to Woodside Ave.) with the explicit purpose to commit violence against the victims,” argued assistant district attorney Nathan McGregor. “She was armed; she used that weapon. She injured two people — both severely, one fatally. She fled the police; she threw away the knife. All of these factors indicate there is probable cause for murder.”
A judge granted the prosecutor’s request for the defendant be held without bail Monday. Massachusetts law deems Mejia will be tried in adult court despite her age because of the serious nature of the charges.
“It appears the defendant’s boyfriend had sent some explicit pictures to the victims in this case, one or the other, maybe both,” McGregor said. “And that was a problem for the defendant.”
Mejia made her way to Woodside Avenue, accompanied by two male friends who may have attempted to dissuade her, the prosecution said. She was allegedly carrying a knife.
A 21-year-old and 17-yearold victim each suffered multiple stab wounds and were moved to the Jamaica Plain police station, according to police records. Both were transported to the hospital.
The 21-year-old died from wounds to the throat and chest. The teenager is expected to recover.
Police found the defendant and her boyfriend at a construction site and located the knife believed to be used during the altercation nearby.
A knife was found on the deceased victim, McGregor said. It is unclear if the weapon was used.
The defendant had wounds to her hands, which the prosecution believes to be consistent with wielding her own knife, McGregor noted.
Eight or nine people gave witness statements, attorneys said, and a video captured the incident from a distance, corroborating witness accounts.
“Issues like self-defense, issues like sudden provocation, heated passion, all may play a role in this horrible, horrible incident,” said defense attorney Stephen Weymouth. “If any of it does play a role, we’re thinking more along the lines of selfdefense, manslaughter or maybe even legitimately not guilty.”
Weymouth also cited possible developmental disabilities and said the defendant was “remorseful” for her actions.
Given her age and the conditions, Weymouth said, an “appropriate initial charge” would have been manslaughter, which would have been tried in juvenile court.
“Last night, at 16 — she’s still 16 today — she was charged with as serious a crime as it gets in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Weymouth. “She’s overwhelmed, confused.”
District Attorney Kevin Hayden called the case what it is — a crushing blow to three families and the city reeling from juvenile violence.
“The scope of this tragedy is immense. One young woman is dead, another is seriously injured, and a third is entering a life-altering journey through the court system,” he said. “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 defendant will return to court for a hearing on March 24.