Vigil to be held for murder victim

EASTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) - A week after the untimely death of Jessica Ann Pripstein, friends and community leaders are holding a vigil for the 39-year-old woman. Pripstein was found dead in her apartment on Ward Avenue shortly after midnight last Monday morning.

In a press conference held last Wednesday, Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan told 22News this was "another tragic case of domestic violence." The suspect is Ryan Welch, who was dating Pripstein at the time, and is now charged with murder.

He is being held without the right to bail.

Friends of Jessica Pripstein, with the help of the non-profit organization Safe Passage, have organized a vigil to celebrate her life and mourn her death.

The vigil is tonight at 7:30 p.m. on the lawn of the First Churches in Northampton.

Everyone is welcomed to attend.

Statistics show that one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime and every year, 1 in 3 women who is a victim of homicide is murdered by her partner.