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Western Mass Woman Guilty Of Fatal Stabbing Of Friend Who Tried To Help Her: DA

A 58-year-old Hampden County woman is expected to spend the rest of her life behind bars for the brutal murder of a friend who was trying to help her, authorities said. 

Brenda Mayhew

Brenda Mayhew

Photo Credit: Hampden District Attorney

Brenda Mayhew, of Three Rivers, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2021 fatal stabbing of Marcia Wilson in her home in Palmer, the Hampden District Attorney said. The penalty for first-degree murder is life in prison without parole. 

Police received a 911 call about an attack at 15 Fox Street in Palmer. When officers tried to open the door, they couldn't budge it. The body of Marcia Wilson had fallen behind it, the prosecutor said. 

Marcia's husband, David Wilson, told authorities that Mayhew attacked his wife with a Marine Corps-style knife before he could stop her, a police report said. When he tried to call 911, Mayhew threw his phone into their cat's water bowl and ripped a telephone out of the wall. He was also wounded in the attack. 

An obituary for Marcia Wilson said she was a "lifelong caregiver" who "died doing what she was known to all for doing: helping a friend in need."

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said he hoped the jury's verdict gave the Wilson family some sense of justice. 

A judge will decide Mayhew's sentence in July. 

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