CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A man with a long history of mental illness and violent assaults stabbed neighbor Laura Blyden to death on a Saturday afternoon because he didn’t like the way she was sweeping the walkway.
The suspect, Ahjahra Francis, 37, was found near the murder scene in Oswald Harris Court, covered in blood, with a knife handle in his pocket, court records indicate.
Police also said they found a knife blade on the ground underneath Blyden’s head.
Ahjahra Francis, 37, of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Blyden, 39, had been sweeping the staircase of Building 5 when Francis attacked her, according to a witness who saw Francis strike her in the face, causing her to fall backwards.
The witness saw blood “squirting” from Blyden and tried to pursue Francis as he ran away, according to the VIPD probable cause fact sheet.
The witness lost sight of Francis, and police received a call that he was knocking on doors at Building 2, “trying to get inside of their residences to hide from the police.”
Officers found Francis, who they knew from prior interactions, and said he had “blood all over his hands and blue jeans,” according to the fact sheet.
Francis told police he had been cut and needed to go to the hospital, and officers detained him and took him to the station for questioning.
Francis told investigators that “Ms. Blyden sweeps her garbage in front of his doorway,” and while sweeping the stairway, some of the dirt went into his face, according to the fact sheet.
Francis said he complained to Blyden about the dirt, and “she then went upstairs to get her son,” according to the fact sheet.
When Blyden returned and continued sweeping, “they got into a ‘scuffle’ because the dirt continued to go in his face,” Francis told police.
Francis “went on to state that he punched Laura in her face, she fell down,” and he ran to the area of Building 2 and “knocked on a friend’s door because he was scared for his life, and he wanted to get some help,” according to the fact sheet.
While processing the crime scene, forensic personnel found a six-inch knife blade “under Ms. Blyden’s head in her blood. Detectives from the Major Crime Unit searched Ahjahra Francis and located what appeared to be a yellow plastic knife handle in his left rear pants pocket,” according to the fact sheet.
Francis also suffered a cut to his left thumb, police said, and after the interview at the station, officers transported him to Schneider Hospital for medical treatment.
Francis was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, first- and third-degree assault, and use of a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime of violence.
He appeared in court for his advice-of-rights hearing Monday, where Assistant Virgin Islands Attorney General Brenda Scales requested that bail be set at $1 million.
“Based on his history, as well as his medical history, your Honor, he stands as a danger, having allegedly assaulted this woman who was doing nothing but cleaning a hallway,” Scales said.
Territorial Public Defender Mary Ann Matney said Francis was born and raised in the Virgin Islands, works as a dishwasher, and lives with his mother and grandmother at Oswald Harris Court.
“He has nowhere else to live and no other family, he’s certainly unable to post a $1 million bail and the conditions that the People have asked for are tantamount to no bail in this matter,” Matney said.
“We do believe that mental health is an issue with Mr. Francis, so we would request that an evaluation be conducted while he is at the Bureau of Corrections,” she added.
Scales requested the parties discuss Francis’ medical history in a private sidebar, and Magistrate Judge Paula Norkaitis agreed.
When open court resumed, Norkaitis set bail at $500,000 cash.
“The court does deem that Mr. Ahjahra Francis is a danger to the community,” Norkaitis said.
Francis was previously arrested at Oswald Harris Court in October 2021 when a different woman reported that he had punched her in the face and threatened to kill her with a knife, according to an affidavit filed by police in that case.
The victim said she saw a knife in his back pocket, and asked Francis why he had hit her. Francis “did not answer her question and made several more threats stating that he would kill her, after which he went to his room and remained quiet,” according to the 2021 affidavit.
The victim said Francis has prescribed medication for a mental health condition, and “she often must bribe Mr. Francis with money to take the medication,” according to the 2021 affidavit. The victim told police she wanted Francis arrested “because she feared for her life and did not know what he would do if he remained inside the residence.”
Scales also served as prosecutor in that previous case, and told the judge at the time that Francis has a criminal record of assault dating back to 2004 and was charged with first-degree murder in 2006.
Court records show that Francis underwent psychiatric evaluations in the 2006 case, which was eventually dismissed in 2015.
“After that, he had numerous similar arrests and domestic violence assaults and batteries,” Scales said during the 2021 hearing.
Following his release in 2015, Francis was arrested in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and convicted of aggravated assault and battery in the last case, according to court records.
Former Magistrate Judge Henry Carr III said in 2021 that he was “concerned about Mr. Francis’s mental health issues,” and the “unprovoked assault” and threats against the victim, and ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Francis remained jailed after his arrest, and the court scheduled a bench trial for February 4.
But the day before trial, Scales informed the court that the victim had declined to appear and testify. The prosecution was left without sufficient evidence to prove the charges against Francis, and Scales filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Norkaitis, who took over the case following Carr’s retirement, granted the motion and ordered that Francis be released from custody on February 4, according to court records.
In court Monday, Norkaitis ordered Francis to undergo another psychiatric evaluation.