Woman fatally stabs identical twin in drunken brawl

A woman has admitted to fatally stabbing her identical twin sister in the chest during a drunken fight, but may serve as little as three years in prison.

Amanda Ramirez, 27, had been drinking with her twin sister, Anna, and a friend in her New Jersey home on June 22 when the twins began arguing, leading to the brawl that killed Anna.

Amanda could not recall what the fight was about, but shortly after it began she went to the kitchen to get a knife and stabbed her twin in the chest, fatally wounding her.

According to Assistant Prosecutor Peter Gallagher, a witness told police that she heard Amanda tell her sister, "Watch what I'm going to do," before stabbing Anna.

Police were called to the apartment shortly after 5:30am and rushed Anna to a nearby hospital, where she died from her injuries less than an hour later.

During the trial Amanda's attorney, Jordan Zeitz, questioned the young woman about the stabbing.

"At some point during the fight you had a knife in your hand... And you used that knife and stabbed your sister once in the chest?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied, later confirming that she then had her friend take the knife inside and stayed with her sister until police arrived.

Initially, Amanda told police two different stories about her sister's stabbing, first claiming that Anna had been wounded by someone else before admitting to the crime.

She claimed that Anna had brought out the knife and the pair wrestled over it, with Anna being stabbed in the struggle.

Amanda pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter after accepting a plea deal that downgraded her original aggravated manslaughter charge.

It means the 27-year-old is now facing as little as three years in prison, compared to the usual five to 10 years for a second-degree offense.

Anna leaves behind three daughters, while Amanda has a 22-month-old child.