Trial underway for Trois-Rivières woman accused of fatally stabbing friend who sheltered her during apparent mental health crisis

SPRINGFIELD — Brenda Mayhew begged a friend to take her in on a snowy night in February 2021, then allegedly stabbed the woman to death in her kitchen the next morning.

The victim, Marcia Wilson, 68, of Palmer, screamed to her husband for help, according to court records.

“Get her off me!” Wilson pleaded. Her husband, David Wilson, told police he took a kitchen chair and threw it at Mayhew's back and neck.

But it was too late. Marcia Wilson died from multiple stab wounds on February 8, 2021.

Mayhew, of Three Rivers, is on trial for murder in Hampden Superior Court. Closing arguments and testimony began June 7 before Judge Francis E. Flannery. A state fingerprint analyst told jurors Tuesday that she recovered a large blood-covered knife from a staircase and the military-style knife sheath nearby.

The Wilsons' phone was also covered in blood and ripped from the wall, police said. David Wilson said he pushed the knife away from Mayhew as she continued to grip the end of the blade. He also told police that Mayhew bit him and threw his cell phone into a bowl of water when he tried to call 911.

He then ran to a neighbor's house in Palmer and asked her to call police, according to reports.

Witnesses told investigators that Mayhew acted strangely and spent time at Baystate Wing Hospital the day before the alleged attack. A family member sent police to Mayhew's home several times over two days for welfare checks until she finally agreed to be evaluated at the hospital. When she was released, she begged Marcia Wilson and her husband to take her in.

David Wilson and another family member attempted to drive Mayhew home, but snowy road conditions thwarted their efforts. So Mayhew spent the night on the couch talking loudly to his dog.

“You're safe. We just have to follow the plan,” a witness was heard saying the dog, who was found dead and wrapped in a blanket when police arrived the next morning.

A police report does not indicate how the dog died. When investigators searched Mayhew's house days after Wilson's death, they found evidence of a doomsday plan with tons of dried and canned food everywhere, including the dishwasher, as well as receipts for knives and survival gear throughout the house.

Mayhew was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation following his arrest. She pleaded not guilty at her first arraignment.

The trial can last up to three weeks.