Man gets 40 years for murdering girlfriend
BIDDEFORD, Maine — The man who bludgeoned his fiancé to death with a rock at York Beach three years ago apologized to the victim’s family Wednesday as he was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Jeffrey Buchannan’s attorney, Jon Gale, maintained his client suffered from mental illness that caused delusions. He said Buchannan was starting a new medication when he went to Short Sands Beach with his girlfriend, Rhonda Pattelena, on March 26, 2021. Gale said Buchannan’s crime was tragic but not premeditated.
Buchannan, moments before being brought to the House of Corrections to serve his sentence, told the court and a room full of Pattelena’s family he was “so, so sorry.”
“There is not a moment that I don’t think about you,” Buchannan said, referring to Pattelena with whom he had a son.
“To her family,” he said, “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I have the worst punishment of all, which is to relive (the crime) over and over. I’m not asking for forgiveness. Because I can’t, I won’t forgive myself.”
The sentencing took place in York County Superior Court three years after
Buchannan committed the murder. He pleaded guilty earlier this month, having previously attempted to plead insanity.
Pattelena’s family and friends asked Judge Richard Mulhern to hand down the maximum sentence. Buchannan pleaded guilty under the condition his prison term was capped at 45 years. The loved ones of his victim said they wished he served life without parole.
“(I hope) this individual never sees the light of day without a cell around him,” Pattelena’s longtime friend Kristina DeSimone said in a victim impact statement to the court. “There is no forgiveness for this.”
Crime in York inexcusable, says AG
Pattelena was 35 years old when she went to Short Sands Beach with Buchannan on the day of her murder. Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue said they had plans to marry that week, but they did not go through with it. She said they still planned to tie the knot that next week.
Previously, Buchannan had been charged with assault and battery and kidnapping related to Pattelena and her sons. There was also an active protective order against Buchannan that he violated in spending time with Pattelena, she said.
Still, Bogue said Pattelena’s love for Buchannan was apparent. She said Patelena’s home was filled with pictures of her young son, her family, and her writings that revealed her desire to be a good mother and future wife to Buchannan. A search warrant also turned up a letter in her car she wrote to Buchannan filled with love for him and her desire to be married and build a life together.
When they went to the beach, Bogue said video surveillance footage captured the couple walking. Pattelena is seen visibly in a good mood. It is only when she turns away to bend over that Buchannan picks up a large rock and attacks her.
Prosecutors had the actual rock used to murder Pattelena shown to the court to demonstrate the large size and flat shape with edges. She said video footage shows Buchannan’s arm going up and down repeatedly as he struck her. She said injuries on Buchannan’s arms indicate she fought.
“Rhonda had to have known in those last moments before her death that her fiancé, the father of her child, was killing her and ending her life,” Bogue said.
Bogue called the act premeditated and asked for the maximum amount of years for Buchannan to serve under the capped plea. She also said his past claim that his mental illness caused him to do this did not stand up.
She said he has never been diagnosed with schizophrenia despite claiming to have been. She also disputed that he ever blacked out, as he claimed to police.
Bogue said his frequent use of marijuana played into his violent tendencies. She pointed to his criminal record, which included assault and battery, among other crimes like larceny.
“He claimed to not know that he had a rock. He claimed to not know how or if she was injured,” she said. “He didn’t try to get help for her.”
Buchannan had a tough upbringing, says sister
Buchannan’s attorney maintained his client had mental issues, as well as a difficult upbringing.
Buchannan’s sister Brittany also spoke about how they were raised by their grandmother in Lowell, Massachusetts because their mother was addicted to crack. At the same time, Gale, the defense attorney, said Buchannan’s grandmother was physically abusive, dolling out “corporal punishment.”
“He was on and around the tough streets. The toughest of Lowell,” Gale said, “And witnessed some horrible things.”
Gale asked for Buchannan to receive 30 years in prison as the attack did not appear premeditated. He pointed out that Buchannan did not come with a weapon and was visiting a busy beach area in the middle of the day.
“There’s no motive. There’s ample evidence of this being motivated by thoughts and beliefs that were not based in reality,” Gale said.
Judge's sentence not ‘enough' for victim's family
Judge Mulhern said he handed down his sentence because of the severity of the crime based on past Maine cases. He said it did not rise to the level of a life sentence, which has specific requirements, and he agreed Buchannan appeared at least somewhat delusional.
However, he said the death was undoubtedly cruel, and that video shows Buchannan took methodical steps to wait until they were in a secluded area and Pattelena was looking away.
“The defendant effectively executed her,” Mulhern said. “(Pattelena) never saw it coming.”
Pattelena’s family said they hoped Buchannan would receive the harshest sentence. They shared memories that made the group laugh through their tears, like Pattelena’s “sassy” personality and her love of cooking.
Her sister Jessica Pattelena described their “squad,” which often included both Pattelena sisters, their children and Rhonda Pattelena’s best friend Angela Patch. They rented hotel rooms with pools and had “junk food parties.”
Patch said they had decided New Year’s Eve of 2020 that they would plan more fun times together. Now, she said, she thinks daily about her missing best friend that she can never call again.
Pattelena’s mother Lauri said her daughter’s greatest joy was being a mother and that her boys must grow up without her.
“Her ability to live, breathe, watch and raise her boys and love them unconditionally were taken at the hands of a pure evil monster,” said Lauri Pattelena.