VSP: Woman stabs another woman at Waterbury hotel

June 11, 2025  |  By Eric Blaisdell  |  Times Argus

BURLINGTON — A Massachusetts woman is accused of stabbing another woman at a hotel in Waterbury.

Courtney Muchugu, 31, of Worcester, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty in Chittenden County criminal court in Burlington to felony counts of second-degree attempted murder and aggravated assault. If convicted, Muchugu faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the attempted murder charge. She has been ordered held without bail and was housed at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington.

Trooper Mae Murdock, of the Vermont State Police, said in her affidavit a fight was reported Monday at the Best Western hotel on Blush Hill Road. Murdock said she was told by dispatch that a couple of people had showed up to the hotel looking to fight a guest there.

Murdock said staff at the hotel reported the victim had been stabbed and “her insides were coming out.” The affidavit included graphic photos from the hotel surveillance system of the victim showing what appeared to be her organs coming out of a stab wound.

Murdock said she arrived at the hotel and saw Muchugu standing next to a vehicle with two men. She said one of the men reported the victim was his ex-girlfriend, and she had come from Massachusetts to “jump” Muchugu, his current girlfriend.

The trooper said a hotel employee reported Muchugu had stabbed the victim.

Murdock said Muchugu reported the victim keeps harassing her and she had experienced ongoing incidents with the victim in Worcester, Massachusetts. Muchugu reported she had been receiving messages from an unknown Instagram account, believed to belong to the victim, telling Muchugu “see you soon,” and “Today is going to be the day,” according to court records.

Murdock noted the victim and another woman checked into the Best Western on Sunday with the intention of staying until Monday. She said Muchugu reported she believed they came to the hotel to fight her.

Murdock said Muchugu reported she and her partner were in the state since June 5 on a couple’s retreat.

Murdock said Muchugu reported she, her partner and another man they were with decided to leave the hotel because the victim was there. Muchugu reported the victim found her and chased her back into the hotel, according to court records. Murdock said Muchugu’s partner tried to keep the women separated, and Muchugu reported she grabbed a knife and stabbed the victim.

The trooper said Muchugu reported she didn’t know where the knife came from nor how she came to possess it because the incident happened so quickly.

Murdock said surveillance footage from the hotel showed Muchugu lunged at the victim with the knife while her partner tried to keep the victim away. About a minute after the stabbing occurred, Murdock said the footage showed Muchugu laughing and sticking her tongue out.

The trooper said the knife used was secured by hotel staff, but not before Muchugu again took possession of it, and had it taken away from her by her partner.

About five minutes after the stabbing, Murdock said the footage showed the victim returning to the hotel and showing hotel staff her injury.

Murdock said the knife used, a curved karambit knife, was found with reddish brown stains on it.