Woman sentenced to 12 to 14 years in prison for stabbing Chelsea teenager to death

A Winthrop woman pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter in connection with the 2021 stabbing death of a 19-year-old teenager in Chelsea, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.

Ava Najafi, now 20, pleaded guilty to killing 19-year-old Cyndell Rodriguez of Chelsea, the office said in a press release.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Mary Ames sentenced Najafi to 12 to 14 years in prison, with credit for time already served. Najafi, who was 17 at the time of the stabbing, has been held without bail since his arrest the day after the incident.

On August 19, 2021, Chelsea Police responded to the Garfield Avenue area shortly before 9:30 p.m. Upon arrival, police found Rodriguez stabbed to the neck and chest. Emergency responders took Rodriguez to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.

Investigators determined that Rodriguez was part of a group of people involved in an altercation with another group on Garfield Avenue. Najafi was one of the people in the second group. Investigators determined that Najafi stabbed Rodriguez during the altercation.

During the arraignment, former Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said that although the case was still under investigation, authorities believed the altercation was sparked by social media. The Boston Globe.

Najafi was initially charged with Rodriguez's murder. Under state law, juveniles as young as 14 who are charged with murder can be tried as adults.

Najafi’s lawyer, Phillip A. Tracy Jr., told the globe that Najafi is an orphan who was raised by an aunt and uncle in Winthrop. He said Najafi has no criminal history.

“The tragedy of this heartbreaking case affects everyone directly and indirectly involved,” District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “The family and friends of Cyndell Rodriguez have forever lost a young woman just starting out in life. Their loss is eternal. But it is also a tragedy for Ava Najafi, whose quick and terrible decisions that day ended a life and dramatically changed her own.”

Boston.com was unable to contact Najafi's lawyer prior to publication.