New Jersey twin identified identical sister as killer before she bled to death: Witness
A judge revealed in court Thursday, a New Jersey woman had identified her own identical twin sister as her killer after she was fatally stabbed to death. Camden County Superior Court Judge Edward McBride revealed that according to a witness, Amanda Ramirez, 27, had slain her own sister Anna before she screamed "Amanda, you stabbed me" as she bled to death Saturday, the Daily Mail reported.
The witness, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, claimed she heard Amanda threaten her sibling saying "Watch what I'm going to do," before she went back inside her home at the Centennial Village Apartments in Camden and brought back a large kitchen knife to attack her.
According to reports, the witness lives on an upper floor of the same apartment building as Amanda's family and claimed she overheard the threat from a window. She later went downstairs to check on the sisters when she found Anna stabbed and bleeding on the ground. The witness' claim led to Amanda being charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of her identical twin sister.
According to a New York Times report, the sisters may have been romantically involved with the same man. However, this is yet to be confirmed. Police responded to the address at 5:40 a.m. June 22 and found Amanda covered in blood. She reportedly told officers she had no idea what had happened to her sister, saying she had found her that way.
The 27-year-old reportedly changed her account multiple times while talking to authorities. At one point, she claimed they both had been drinking outside and started an argument as soon as they reached home. The sisters fought until they were on their knees, Amanda said, before Anna went into the kitchen and retrieved a knife. The pair then struggled over control of the blade before Amanda eventually disarmed her sister. However, in an act of self-defense, she plunged the knife into the left side of her chest, she claimed.
Officers observed a series of injuries on Amanda's body as they were interrogating her, police documents indicate, including lacerations on one finger, dried blood on her ear, and scratches on her face. Investigators later recovered a knife from Amanda's family's apartment, and preliminary tests indicated traces of blood on it. The sisters had uploaded a picture on Facebook just hours before Anna was killed. The photo showed both of them smiling and posing alongside two other friends.
Amanda was seen shackled at the wrists and ankles as she entered the courtroom Thursday afternoon. She burst into tears as soon as she was arraigned before the judge. In the background, one could see weeping faces of her bereaved family members as Amanda was escorted by multiple officers to the stand.
Igor Levenberg, Amanda's public defender, said that even if the allegations were true, the state's case was claiming his client's actions were part of a reckless act and not that of pre-meditated or purposeful murder. Levenburg went on to argue that his client should thus be released on house arrest, especially considering her otherwise clean and unblemished criminal history.
Furthermore, he also sought to discredit the witness' version of events. "While she did witness much of what occurred, she actually did not witness the actual stabbing event," he said. Nonetheless, the presiding judge ordered Amanda to be remanded in custody without bail. According to NJ.com, family members supported Amanda as she exited the courtroom still shackled in chains, shouting "Love you" and "Keep your head up, sis" from the gallery.