WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A teenage girl pleaded guilty to stabbing 16-year-old Naima Liggon to death in August.

That’s according to Naima’s mother, Joy, who watched the court proceeding remotely on Monday. The 16-year-old girl accepted a deal, pleading guilty to manslaughter as opposed to going to trial on first-degree murder charges.

“It feels like a punch in the gut. Even though we knew going into this that there was going to be a plea,” said Joy Liggon.

According to officials in the case, Naima and several other girls stopped to get food at the McDonald’s on 14^th Street Northwest after attending a party. Back in their car, the defendant and another girl began fighting over sweet and sour sauce. That argument turned into an altercation outside the car, which led to the defendant stabbing Naima, twice.

Liggon said the argument over dipping sauce has sensationalized her daughter’s death.

“This whole idea that Naima was fighting over sweet and sour sauce, that was not the case. I don’t want her death politicized and I don’t want it minimized to a packet of sweet and sour sauce,” she said. “Naima was not instigating a fight. She was breaking up a fight between two other people.”

Video of the confrontation was shown in court. Attorneys for the defendant said the stabbing happened in self-defense.

However, Liggon did not agree. She wanted to see the case go to trial.

“I saw the video, and I knew it was not self-defense. You can clearly see in that video what happened,” she explained. “And I don’t know which stab wound led to Naima’s death but that second stab wound was very much intentional from what I saw so it just looks like there’s a pretty solid case here.”

The defendant, a 16-year-old girl, faces a punishment of confinement in a juvenile detention center until she turns 21.

“It just doesn’t feel fair, I just keep coming back to that, it doesn’t feel fair,” said Naima’s mother.

The family does not believe the punishment is long enough.

“I feel like if you do the crime, you ought to do the necessary time,” said Marc Gallo Foster, Naima’s uncle. “That’s the problem in our city. These young people know that even if they commit a crime or do something they’re not going to spend anything past their 21 birthday. So, it’s a free game out here. They’re running wild in our city.”

The family would like to see laws change in the district, allowing for longer punishments for juvenile offenders.

While they push for that to happen, they plan to start a nonprofit or foundation to connect other families with resources so their children do not end up in the same situation as Naima.

Meanwhile, Liggon and her brother will continue to find ways to honor and remember Naima every day.

“Naima was light, she was very bubbly, she was your typical 16-year-old,” said her mother. “She liked to hang out with friends, she liked to dance, she played basketball, she was involved in church. She was just a pretty amazing kid.”

“She was the light of the party, she had a great sense of humor,” said Foster. “She would keep her uncle on his toes.”

The defendant will return to court for sentencing on Jan. 3.