Anthony Bechand is expected to stand before a judge Friday afternoon in Albany County Court, where he could be sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, 41-year-old Amanda Rodriguez. Bechand pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with Rodriguez's death, which came after investigators say she was found stabbed multiple times inside the Cohoes home the two shared.
Rodriguez was found dead with multiple stab wounds inside that Cohoes home on September 14, 2025, according to WNYT. A family member had asked police to check on her, leading investigators to the discovery. Once investigators identified Bechand as a suspect, he disappeared, touching off a manhunt that stretched nearly two weeks.
A Manhunt That Ended Near the Canadian Border
Bechand's pickup truck was eventually tracked to the Adirondacks as the search for him widened. He was captured on September 26, 2025, near Paul Smith's College in Franklin County, not far from the Canadian border, ending the nearly two-week manhunt for Bechand after Rodriguez's body was discovered.
The search involved a broad mix of local, state and federal agencies, including New York State Forest Rangers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Marshals Task Force. Bechand was found after state police received tips about a suspicious person walking on Route 86 near Paul Smith’s College; the State Police account of the arrest describes the search as a collaborative effort involving numerous police departments and sheriff’s offices.
Bechand pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in August, the station's report notes, resolving a case that had been building toward trial. Prosecutors told the outlet that Rodriguez's family was involved throughout the proceedings, showing up for court appearances and taking part in lengthy discussions about whether the case would go to a jury or end with a plea agreement.
The plea resolved a case in which Bechand had initially faced second-degree murder, second-degree burglary and tampering with evidence. The agreement called for a 20-years-to-life prison term in exchange for his guilty plea to murder, rather than a trial on the original charges, the Times Union reported after the plea. Bechand admitted in court that he killed Rodriguez, and the scheduled trial was canceled after the plea.
Family's Role in Reaching a Resolution
Alyssa Congdon, bureau chief of the special victims unit at the Albany County District Attorney's Office, said prosecutors believe the resolution is one that satisfies Rodriguez's family. She explained that a trial would have meant bringing painful details about Rodriguez's death into the courtroom and making them public, a prospect weighed carefully alongside the family throughout the case.
New York classifies second-degree murder as a class A-I felony; state law sets the minimum term for an indeterminate sentence for that felony between 15 and 25 years, with life as the maximum. The 20-years-to-life term in Bechand’s plea agreement falls within that framework. The state sentencing statute sets those limits, while the agreed term was reported by the Times Union.
Bechand is expected to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Friday. The hearing is scheduled in a case that began with a family's worried call to police and led to a guilty plea to second-degree murder, nearly fourteen months after Rodriguez was found dead in the Cohoes home she once shared with the man now facing a potential life sentence.
