A northern New Jersey woman who fatally stabbed her 88-year-old neighbor has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Yvonne Walker (Essex County Prosecutor's Office)
Yvonne Walker (Essex County Prosecutor's Office)
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Yvonne Walker must serve nearly 38 years before becoming eligible for parole under the sentence imposed Wednesday.

An Essex County jury had convicted the 47-year Irvington resident last month on counts of murder, theft and weapons offenses in the June 2011 stabbing death of Casetta Blunt.

Authorities say Blunt regularly hired Walker to do odd-jobs in exchange for cash. They say Walker stabbed Blunt 11 times in the elderly woman's Irvington home after the two got into an argument over $40.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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