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New Jersey Woman Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison For Killing Identical Twin

A 27-year-old New Jersey woman who was convicted of fatally stabbing her twin sister has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Amanda Ramirez, of Camden, had pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter on Sept. 5 following her admission that she had stabbed her twin, Anna Ramirez, during a drunken fight outside her home in Centennial village on June 22.

Ramirez tearfully addressed New Jersey Superior court on Thursday, saying she could not even remember what she had been fighting about with her sister.

"I know there's nothing I can say to justify what I did," Amanda, said, addressing the judge. "I just want to make it clear that I never had intentions of taking my twin sister's life. If I could take back what I did, I would in a heartbeat."

“Having to live with the fact that she’s no longer alive is devastating,” she said. “I just want to apologize to my family for putting them through this. I hope that they all can forgive me.”

Before handing down her sentence, Judge Edward McBride said he would not grant her a more lenient sentence sought by Ramirez and her family. Ramirez's attorney, Jordan Zeitz, said the killing occurred because his client hadn't properly dealt with postpartum depression and that her pregnancy had "radically changed her life."

"She now is going to remember this for the rest of her life. The sentence you are going to impose is going to pale in comparison to the life sentence she’s already serving," Zeitz told McBride. "We would ask that you follow what the family wants - to get her back to them so they can heal quicker."

Amanda attacked her twin in the early morning hours on June 22 following a night of drinking, according to the prosecutor. When police arrived, they discovered Anna on the ground and rushed her to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead at the scene. Amanda told police the fight began over a knife her twin had brought into the kitchen. According to a witness to the incident, Amanda allegedly told her sister "Watch what I'm going to do," while Anna said, "Amanda, you stabbed me."