A New Jersey woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the stabbing death of her boyfriend after they got into an argument over a key.
Two years ago, Tamasa Nobles, of Ventnor, stabbed 20-year-old Devon Devine in the chest after an argument that began when Devine refused to give her a key, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
Nobles, 20, was initially charged with murder, but the charge was amended to aggravated manslaughter after she admitted to the stabbing in April. A judge sentenced her to 20 years in a state prison on Friday, 17 years of which she must serve before she is eligible for parole.
"A silly argument over a stupid key- an incident in totality that lasted no more than 15 minutes- defined two lives forever: one dead and one who will spend a good part of her adult life in prison," Judge Michael Donio said during the sentencing, the New York Daily News reported.
Nobles was 18 when she and Devine argued at her home on Wissahickon Avenue on Dec. 2, 2012. The couple got into several physical confrontations, during which Nobles attacked Devine with a knife. A third person at the scene took the knife away from Nobles, but later on the girlfriend picked up another knife and stabbed Devine as he was leaving her home, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
The judge acknowledged that Nobles and Devine had a turbulent relationship. Ventnor police were called to the girlfriend's home a month before the murder. There was no physical altercation during that incident.
During Nobles' first court appearance, her lawyer requested that pictures be taken of his client to prove she suffered injuries the day of the stabbing.
"This was a sad, sad affair from the first day and it's been that way for 18 months," Donio said.
Members of the victim's family showed up for the sentencing.
"He was a good man, a good boy," Devine's grandmother, Deborah Keys-Frazier, said according to the Press of Atlantic City.
"My heart aches. But honestly, in my heart, Tamasa, I forgive you."
