Welch is charged with murdering his girlfriend, Jessica Pripstein, in her Easthampton apartment on Feb. 20.
Ryan WelchNORTHAMPTON -- A judge continued the trial of Ryan Welch for the Easthampton murder of Jessica Pripstein to Aug. 28 at a brief pretrial hearing Friday in Hampshire Superior Court.
Welch is charged with murdering Pripstein, his girlfriend, in her Easthampton apartment on Feb. 20. Pripstein, 39, died from what investigators have described as a "sharp force injury to her neck." When police arrived on the scene after an emergency call from Pripstein, they found her dead and Welch, bleeding heavily from an apparent suicide attempt, in the bathroom.
Prosecutor Jeremy Bucci and defense lawyer Paul Rudof asked that a new judge be appointed to hear the case because Judge Mary Lou Rup, who is scheduled to sit in Hampshire Superior Court from November through January, 2013, has recused herself from the case for unspecified reasons.