BOSTON, Oct. 17, 2012—A former East Boston man who fled Massachusetts after slashing his roommate’s throat during a fight, killing him, was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison yesterday, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JORGE MERINO (D.O.B. 11/8/80) admitted his guilt yesterday in the homicide of Jose Joaquin Ramirez, a 33-year-old laborer from Honduras, pleading guilty to the crime of voluntary manslaughter before Suffolk Superior Court Judge Edward Liebensperger. Merino accepted a 17- to 20-year prison sentence and forewent any appeal of his conviction rather than face trial on the indicted charge of first-degree murder.

“There are no words to describe the loss suffered by Mr. Ramirez’s loved ones,” Conley said. “We saw from their words, their strength, and their grace in the midst of mourning that he came from a family whose love for him knew no bounds. We can only hope that this defendant’s full admission of responsibility and the guarantee that he will serve a lengthy prison sentence provides them some satisfaction that justice was done on Jose’s behalf. No resolution will ever bring back what they lost, but this one offers at least a form of closure and certainty.”

After an early morning disturbance on July 26, 2009, inside the Marion Street apartment Merino and Ramirez shared with three other men, Ramirez was found on the kitchen floor with his throat slashed. He died three days after the attack.

“Psychologically, it is an irreparable harm because this bad memory is something that will haunt us every day or our lives,” Ramirez’s sister said in a victim impact statement. “The loss of a father to a son who eagerly awaited his return that never happened, the loss of a son to a mother, and the loss of a brother to many siblings are all a void that can never be filled. Although there are many good things in our life, the damage is still there.”

Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum would have introduced evidence and testimony proving that Merino fled the apartment immediately after slashing Ramirez’s throat, stopping at a relative’s home to discard his bloody clothes and cell phone before leaving Massachusetts.

More than a year later, Boston Police learned that Merino had been arrested on a minor charge in Virginia and was only days away from deportation to his native El Salvador. Merino initially denied involvement in the killing, but eventually admitted cutting the victim’s throat with a large knife during a fight in which the two men grappled on the floor, prosecutors said.

Katherine Moran was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Merino was represented by attorney John Fitzpatrick.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.