A Massachusetts man was slammed with a 40-year prison sentence for the brutal murder of his girlfriend at a Maine beach, authorities said Wednesday. Jeffrey Buchannan, 36, previously from Bedford, Mass., received the sentence after pleading guilty to killing Rhonda Pattelena, 35, with a rock at York's Short Sands Beach on March 26, 2021, according to the Associated Press.
On that fateful day, witnesses saw Buchannan attack Pattelena, first striking her while she was sending a Snapchat video to a friend. The grim details emerged in court, where the judge reviewed surveillance footage and deemed the act of violence "extreme cruelty," as reported by WMTW. Buchannan, who claimed he blacked out prior to the assault, had his sentence capped at 43 years in a plea deal.
The assault, which left Pattelena's skull cracked in three places, was described by prosecutors as an act of unspeakable brutality. The evidence, including the rock used in the murder, was collected at the scene and presented during the sentencing. Buchannan's defense argued that he was suffering from a psychiatric crisis during the attack.
Throughout the emotional sentencing, Pattelena's distraught family and friends called for the toughest possible sentence. "Her ability to live, breathe, watch and raise her boys and love them unconditionally were taken at the hands of pure, evil monster," said Pattelena's mother, Lauri Pattelena, in a statement obtained by WMTW. Buchannan addressed the court as well, "I'm ashamed, terrified, and disappointed in what I did. I'm not asking for forgiveness because I can't and won't forgive myself. All I ask is that you guys keep Rhonda's memories alive," he said, in remarks reported by WMTW.
Pattelena leaves behind three sons, none of whom were present during the tragic incident. The family has been shattered by the loss of a woman whose life was, as friends said, egregiously cut short at her favorite place in the world. Her children must now navigate a life without their mother, their normalcy chipped away by a rock in the hands of a man they knew.
