The state Superior Court on Wednesday denied the appeal of a Lehigh County teenager who engineered the brutal murder of her mother to overturn her 35 years to life sentence.

Jamie L. Silvonek, now 16, had appealed a lower court ruling that denied her bid to be tried as a juvenile in the March 14, 2015, murder of her mother, 54-year-old Cheryl L. Silvonek, a Jim Thorpe Area High School graduate.The three-judge Superior Court panel considered the 22-page Lehigh County court ruling in arriving at its own decision to deny Silvonek's appeal.The ruling, by Judges Anne E. Lazarus, Paula Francisco Ott and James J. Fitzgerald III, was filed Aug. 9.The judges' reasoning"Despite her age, Silvonek was not amenable to rehabilitation in the juvenile system and the adult system would be better able to provide her with the help she requires," the judges wrote.Silvonek's mother opposed her then 14-year-old daughter's sexual relationship with 20-year-old Army Spc. Caleb G. Barnes.Silvonek, the judges wrote, "was the instigator and willing participant in the murder of her mother."In their ruling, the judges cited numerous texts from Silvonek to Barnes on the day they killed her mother, including, "She needs to go, Caleb. Right now. You don't understand."They also cited trial testimony from forensic psychiatrist John S. O'Brien.He found Silvonek to be "a highly intelligent and manipulative young woman" who was not a "fearful or emotionally overpowered passive participant in the pre-planned, premeditated murder of her mother.""Silvonek, even at her young age, had become an adept liar and emotional manipulator of those around her," he said."Silvonek has been described by those around her as a 'chameleon,' 'socially savvy,' a 'psychological bully' and a 'manipulator,' " O'Brien testified.The judges wrote that Silvonek "changed her story and attitude in response to her situation."In her appeal, Silvonek argued the trial court "abused its discretion" by violating her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination; that it "considered her age and her relationship with co-defendant Caleb Barnes as aggravating factors rather than as mitigating factors;" and that it "effectively (found her) guilty of all alleged charges before a trial even commenced."The Superior Court panel countered that case law specifically permits the trial court to presume the juvenile's guilt when considering decertification (whether the defendant should be tried as a juvenile).The panel also cited a letter Silvonek tried to send to Barnes while in jail in rebutting her suggestion that she was acting under Barnes' influence."She asks him to take the blame for her, claiming that if the situation was reversed, she would 'be on the stand at that hearing, taking the fall for you.' "In the letter, she further claims "… the only hope of us ever being together is if I get sent back to Juvenile Court. After seven years I can move to wherever you are, and we can be together."The murderAt about 1 a.m. March 14, 2015, Silvonek and Barnes were in the rear seats of the vehicle parked in the driveway of the Silvoneks' Upper Macungie home when Barnes, seated directly behind Cheryl Silvonek, began to choke and punch her from behind.According to police, the struggle lasted more than 20 minutes, during which time Cheryl Silvonek blew the vehicle's horn with her feet several times. Barnes then took out a knife and stabbed Cheryl Silvonek repeatedly in the neck.Her body was found buried under dirt and snow in the 5700 block of Haasadahl Road in South Whitehall Township on March 15, 2015.Silvonek on Feb. 11, 2016, pleaded guilty in Lehigh County Court to first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence and was sentenced to 35 years to life in state prison.The sentence was part of the plea negotiation.Barnes was convicted of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse.He was sentenced to life in prison.