Guatemalan national sentenced to prison after guilty plea to murder in 2022 stabbing of N.H. woman

A Guatemalan national has been sentenced to state prison after pleading guilty to murder in the 2022 stabbing of Julie Graichen in New Hampshire, the attorney general said Tuesday.

Jose Miguel Ramirez-Vasquez, 27, of Guatemala, was sentenced to 33 years to life in state prison, according to Attorney General John Formella.

Ramirez-Vasquez’s sentence was handed down, stand committed, with the possibility of 3 years suspended from the minimum, should Vasquez receive no major disciplinary infractions in prison within 5 years of sentencing.

Separately, Formella said Vasquez’s immigration status is now subject to federal analysis and enforcement, which would be a federal matter and not carried out by the state Department of Justice.

Ramirez-Vasquez was sentenced in Hillsborough County Superior Court (Southern District) on Monday.

On Aug. 26, he pleaded guilty to second degree murder “when he admitted that he had recklessly, with extreme indifference to the value of human life, caused the death of Julie Graichen by stabbing her in an apartment in Nashua,” Formella said in a statement.

Julie Graichen, 34, was found dead in an apartment on Kinsley Street late afternoon on Aug. 5, 2022. The Medical Examiner determined her cause of death was a stab wound to the chest.

Graichen grew up in Nashua and was a 2006 graduate of Nashua High School North, according to her obituary. She also attended Nashua Community College.

In her youth, Graichen loved horseback riding, reading, and was well known for her love of cats, according to her obituary.

“Julie was a hoop performer and had a large following on her performance sites and often attended local music festivals,” her obituary states. “Her creative and magnetic personality touched many and she left a memorable and unique impression with her friends and family.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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