Judge orders Ryan Welch, accused killer of Jessica Pripstein, held without right to bail

Welch will remain in custody at the Hampshire County House of Correction for the duration of his trial.

This is an update to a story that was originally posted at 3:28 p.m. Monday

NORTHAMPTON — A request for bail by the lawyer representing Ryan Welch, the man accused of killing Jessica Ann Pripstein of Easthampton during a Feb. 20 domestic argument was denied Monday afternoon in Hampshire Superior Court.

Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder ruled that given the nature of the charge he did not believe it was appropriate to set bail. A request to set bail at $50,000 cash or a $500,000 personal surety was denied.

Welch will remain in custody at the Hampshire County House of Correction for the duration of his trial, Kinder said.

Welch’s lawyer, Joseph Rudof, in arguing for bail described Welch as someone who has battled much of his adult life with mental illness, in particular bouts of debilitating depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, and that he was in a “downward spiral” in the weeks leading up to the Feb. 20 incident.

But, Rudof said, Welch is not a flight risk. He said a recent psychological evaluation of Welch at Bridgewater State Hospital determined he should not be considered a danger to himself or others, and that prior to his arrest for killing Pripstein, he had never been known to be violent.

Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Jeremy Bucci, the lead prosecutor, argued against granting the right to bail, citing the violent nature of the crime, that his family lives out of state, and if convicted he is facing life in prison without parole. He said Welch is an extreme flight risk.

He also noted that Welch’s decision within two minutes of allegedly killing Pripstein to barricade himself in her apartment and attempt suicide demonstrates he was willing “to take extraordinary measures to avoid prosecution already.”

Welch, dressed in a dark suit, stood silently and with his hands cuffed during the entire proceedings. After conferring quietly with Rudof, he was led out of the courtroom.

He is due back in court on Aug. 3 for a pre-trial hearing.

Welch is charged with killing Pripstein, his girlfriend, with what had been described as “a sharp force injury to the neck” as they fought inside her Ward Avenue apartment.

Documents released in court Monday revealed for the first time to the public that Pripstein died of a single knife wound across her throat that severed both juglar veins, her trachea, esophagus and left carotid artery.

Police received a call just after midnight from Pripstein, who told dispatchers that “my boyfriend is attempting to kill me,” according to the state police statement. During the conversation, Pripstein could be heard yelling, “Oh my God” and “Oh my God, please” before the call was cut off, according to the statement.

Pripstein, 39, was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor, but fire officials determined she was dead, according to the statement.

Welch was found alive inside a bedroom, but bleeding heavily from an extensive neck laceration from the suicide attempt.

Welch told police that he had returned to Pripstein’s apartment and found her on the bathroom floor and then decided to slit his own throat, according to the probable cause statement.

Pripstein was a licensed aesthetician and worked at Liora Gabrielle European Skin Care in Northampton. She also worked off and on as a waitress at Adamo’s Pizza in Easthampton.

Welch, before he lost his job, had worked as a delivery driver for Adamo’s, and that was how he and Pripstein met, Rudof said.
Ryan Welch Statement of Case 57