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NJ Teen, 16, Sentenced For Horrific Murder Of Autumn Pasquale, 12

WOODBURY, N.J. (CBS) -- A teen who confessed to killing a 12-year-old Gloucester County girl will spend 17 years in prison.

Justin Robinson, 16, learned his fate Thursday morning in a courtroom in Woodbury, NJ.

In August, Robinson told a New Jersey Superior Court judge that he was solely responsible for the strangulation of Autumn Pasquale in October 2012. He pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter (see related story).

"Autumn didn't die from a disease, in a car accident or a random shooting. She was murdered, literally at the hands of the defendant as he watched Autumn take her last breath," Autumn's mother, Jennifer Cornwell, told the courtroom during an impact statement Thursday.

Robinson offered a short apology during his sentencing. Robinson's mother also spoke Thursday and characterized Autumn's death as an accident.

"The nature of the crime demanded Justin Robinson be sentenced as an adult and face adult penalties," prosecutor Warren Faulk said last month. "The plea requires that he serve at least 85 percent of the time before he's eligible for parole."

Robinson was just 15 years old last October when, according to authorities, he and his older brother, Dante, killed Pasquale for her bike and dumped her remains in a recycling bin next to the Robinsons' house in Clayton, NJ (see related story).

Earlier this year, the case was transferred to Camden County after the Pasquale family filed a lawsuit against Gloucester County prosecutors over the initial handling of the investigation.

Charges against Dante Robinson, 17, are still pending in juvenile court in Gloucester County.

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