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Jonathan Ritchie, 21, of Newark and Josiah Ritchie, 19, killed Debra Derrick, 63, who was celebrating her birthday and that of her late twin sister when she was shot on the front porch of her home in March 2021, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, said.
Derrick, who had worked as a certified nursing assistant at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, was at her home in the 200 block of Lehigh Avenue releasing balloons when she was shot on March 11, 2021. The twin sister had died seven years earlier.
The two shooters were identified as the Ritchi brothers, living with their mother and stepfather, Stephens said. The brothers are originally from Guyana and had previously lived in Atlanta.
Both brothers were being held in the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark. They were charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Editor's note: A previous and incorrect version of this story stated that the Ritchies were Derrick's grandsons. They were not in fact related and the story has been updated for accuracy.
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