21-year-old York woman sentenced to life for New Year's Eve 2022 murder

A York County judge has sentenced 21-year-old Alajah Elizabeth Holmes to life in prison for murdering 18-year-old Amiya Paige on New Year's Eve in 2022.

Court of Common Pleas President Judge Maria Musti Cook sentenced Holmes on Wednesday, according to the York County District Attorney's Office.

At the time of the shooting, Paige was with a group of several friends, including Jessazhia Mayes, Holmes' sister. A non-jury trial, which took place this summer, revealed that Holmes and Mayes exchanged messages on Facebook, which later turned into an argument.

More: 'A death that never had to occur': York woman found guilty of New Year's Eve 2022 murder

Holmes testified that she brought a gun to the scene because her sister said she would also bring one and admitted to firing the first shot at the group "in the air, to scare them off."

"They shot back, so I fired back," Holmes said. She saw somebody fall and thought it was her sister, so she tried to call Mayes.

Holmes then had her cousin call around to find out who had been shot and discovered that it was not her sister who was shot, but Paige, a woman Holmes did not know, she testified.

Six days following, Holmes, who fired four shots around 12:30 a.m. that morning, killing Paige, turned herself in to police.

Holmes was found guilty of first-degree murder and criminal attempt for first degree murder for the death of Paige.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: 21-year-old York woman sentenced to life for New Year's Eve 2022 murder