knife-376381_640
Knife Pixabay

Amanda Ramirez, a New Jersey woman that stabbed her twin sister, Anna Ramirez, to death, has been sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Amanda, 27, was in Camden County Superior Court on Thursday when she received the news of the sentencing.

She initially denied stabbing Anna outside an apartment complex on June 22 but later admitted to it. She claimed it was in self-defense after her sister got a knife and came at her.

Ramirez stated the stabbing occurred after a night of heavy drinking, adding that she does not remember why she and her sister were fighting in the first place.

The fight ended with Ramirez stabbing her sister once in the chest.

Police were subsequently summoned to the scene before 5.30 a.m. and came to find Anna Ramirez unresponsive with blood on the left side of her chest. She had one stab wound.

She was pronounced dead after an hour. The prosecutor’s office and Amanda’s lawyer, Jordan Zeitz, did not comment to media outlets at the time.

After the judge gave the sentence, Ramirez gave a tearful apology, which was captured on video. She said she did not want her sister to die.

She also claimed there is nothing she can say to justify what she did. Ramirez just wanted to make it clear she did not have the intention of taking the life of her sister. All the while breaking down, she stated that she would take back what she did in a heartbeat if possible.

Ramirez added that having to live with the fact Anna is no longer alive is devastating. She also apologized to her family for putting them through the whole ordeal.

Her attorney, Zeitz, spoke on behalf of Amanda before the sentencing telling Judge Edward McBride the killing was a result of Amanda suffering from post-partum depression and emotional issues stemming from her pregnancy.

Zeitz added that Amanda is going to remember this event for the rest of her life. He said the sentence the judge was doing to give would still pale in the face of the internal life sentence she is serving for the murder of her sister.

Following the argument, he urged the judge to follow the requests of her family to be lenient so that she gets back to them as soon as possible to heal.

Ramirez’s family had indeed pleaded with Judge McBride to be lenient with her.