Man accused of beating girlfriend to death on York beach to get psychological evaluation

Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News, Maine
·2 min read

Mar. 30—A Maine judge on Tuesday ordered that a Massachusetts man accused of beating his girlfriend to death with a rock on a York beach undergo a psychological evaluation to determine if he is competent to assist in his own defense.

Jeffrey Buchannan, 33, is charged with intentional or knowing murder in the death of Rhonda Pattelena, 35, on Friday afternoon on Short Sands Beach.

Defense attorney Jon Gale of Portland suggested his client be evaluated, Superior Court Justice Wayne Douglas said in ordering the evaluation.

Douglas also ordered that Buchannan continue to be held without bail at the York County Jail.

The defendant made his first appearance remotely Tuesday from that facility.

Buchannan was not asked to enter a plea because he has not yet been indicted by the York County grand jury.

He is next due to appear in court for a status conference on April 12.

Buchannan was captured on nearby surveillance videos hitting a woman over the head with a rock, according to a court affidavit. Several people who dialed 911 shortly before 4 p.m. Friday reported seeing a Black man wearing a black hoodie and red sneakers striking a woman and dragging her body behind some rocks.

When interviewed by police, Buchannan allegedly claimed that he had "blacked out" and did not remember striking her with a rock.

Pattelena was found dead by members of the York Beach Fire Department, the court document said. They reported that she had suffered "significant trauma to the face and head" and blood was found on the sand under her head.

A rock near her body that may have been used as the murder weapon was collected as evidence, the affidavit said.

An autopsy performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner showed that Pattelena died of blunt force trauma to the head, according to the Maine State Police.

If convicted, Buchannan faces between 25 years and life in prison.

Recommended Stories

  • Black lab cut by knife-wielding home intruder while protecting Texas family, cops say

    “She’s our hero.”

  • Stranger lived undetected in couple’s basement, stealing their food, Washington cops say

    While the man tried to tell police he had permission to be there, the homeowner “made it very clear that no one had permission to stay in the house.”

  • Man shot, killed inside food court at Philadelphia Mills Mall

    A man was shot and killed Monday evening in the food court area at Philadelphia Mills Mall, police said.

  • Matt Gaetz claims he's the victim of an extortion attempt, 'demands' the DOJ release proof

    Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tweeted on Tuesday night that his family is the target of an extortion attempt by a former Department of Justice official who is "seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name." Gaetz made the claim shortly after The New York Times reported that the Justice Department is investigating whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel with him out of state. Over a series of tweets, Gaetz said that his family has been "cooperating with federal authorities" investigating the alleged extortion attempt, and "my father has even been wearing a wire at the FBI's direction to catch these criminals." The Times' report was an attempt to "thwart that investigation," Gaetz continued. "No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets of the ongoing extortion investigation." He went on to "demand" the Justice Department "immediately release the tapes, made at their direction, which implicate their former colleague in crimes against me based on false allegations." More stories from theweek.comKentucky Republicans change the rules so they could get to pick Mitch McConnell's replacementCourt rules defamation suit filed against Trump by ex-Apprentice contestant can move forwardThe rotten center of the infrastructure debate

  • Kneeling, raising fist during national anthem will be allowed at US Olympic trials

    Athletes will also be allowed to wear hats with phrases such as “Black Lives Matter.”

  • LinkedIn confirms it's working on a Clubhouse rival, too

    LinkedIn has now confirmed it's also testing a social audio experience in its app which would allow creators on its network to connect with their community. Unlike the Clubhouse rivals being built by Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn believes its audio networking feature will be differentiated because it will be connected with users' professional identity, not just a social profile. In addition, the company has already built out a platform that serves the creator community, which today has access to tools like Stories, LinkedIn Live video broadcasting, newsletters and more.

  • Indonesia recovers cockpit voice recorder of crashed Sriwijaya Air jet

    Indonesia's transport ministry said on Wednesday it had recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of a Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off on Jan. 9, killing all 62 people on board. A navy spokesman, La Ode Muhamad Holib, told Reuters that the CVR was found on Wednesday. Divers found the casing and beacon of the CVR from the 26-year-old Boeing Co 737-500 within days of the crash but had spent nearly three months searching for the memory unit in relatively shallow but muddy waters that sometimes attract strong currents.

  • EMT Bystander: I Was ‘Desperate to Help’ Floyd but Cops Wouldn’t Let Me

    Hennepin County CourtAn off-duty Minneapolis firefighter and trained EMT testified Tuesday that she begged officers to let her help George Floyd as he died—but one of the law enforcers “didn’t let her into the scene” and told her off.“If you really are a Minneapolis firefighter then you know better than to get involved,” Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao told Genevieve Hansen, according to her testimony in Hennepin County Court on Tuesday.Dressed in her official uniform, the 27-year-old began to cry as she explained to jurors all the different “tactics” she tried to use to convince the four cops arresting Floyd to let her into the scene. She said she pled, begged, and even cursed at the officers because she was so “desperate to help.”“I was really concerned. I thought his face looked puffy and swollen which would happen if you are putting a grown man's weight on someone's neck,” she said, adding that she was “totally distressed” when her offers to help were ignored. “I identified myself right away because I noticed he needed medical help right away.”“I was desperate to help and wasn’t getting to do what I needed to do,” she said.Minneapolis firefighter Genevieve Clara Hansen becomes emotional testifying about cops impeded her efforts to try to save George Floyd's life pic.twitter.com/sXi8cDoaTe— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 30, 2021 Hansen said she pulled out her phone to record the arrest. After Floyd’s lifeless body was loaded into an ambulance, she said she called 911 “after it all settled in and I wished that I had done that immediately.”“I literally watched police officers not take a pulse and not do anything to save a man,” Hansen told 911 dispatchers on May 25, according to a recording played in court. As her call was played to the court, Chauvin stared across the courtroom.Hansen is one of seven witnesses to testify against Chauvin so far as prosecutors seek to prove he used excessive force when he kneeled on Floyd’s neck for over 9 minutes during an arrest over an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.Chauvin, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. His lawyer, Eric Nelson, has argued that Floyd’s death was the result of health issues and drugs—and that his client was simply doing what “he was trained to do throughout his 19-year career.”Three other officers—Thao, Thomas K. Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng—have pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree murder while committing a felony, as well as aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence. They are expected to face a trial together in August.Hansen said she was “going for a walk” on May 25 after working a 48-hour shift at the firehouse. After seeing police lights from a distance, she thought there may be a fire close-by and walked in that direction.“As I got closer there was a woman across the street screaming that they were killing him,” she said, adding that she circled the scene then moved closer because she “was concerned to see a handcuffed man who was not moving with officers with their whole body weight on his back and a crowd that was stressed out.”‘Something Was Wrong’: 911 Dispatcher Watching George Floyd’s Arrest Was So Disturbed She Called a SupervisorHansen said that, in addition to being certified in rendering aid, she works at a busy fire station “with a lot of overdoses” and regularly sees unconscious and “pulse-less” people in her job.Her experience allowed her to realize Floyd was in immediate danger, prompting her to approach Chauvin and Thao to try to insist they check a pulse, she said. In a video played in court Tuesday, Hansen can be heard saying multiple times she is a trained medical professional. Instead, Thao directed her onto the sidewalk with the growing crowd and seemed to scold her for offering her assistance.“That’s not right, that’s exactly what I should have done. There was no medical assistance on the scene,” she said Tuesday, adding she would have provided “medical attention to the best of my abilities.”Feeling “helpless,” Hansen said that she began to get angry at the officers and recorded the scene.Another bystander, 33-year-old MMA fighter Donald Williams, testified Tuesday that he repeatedly told Chauvin he was using a dangerous chokehold. In a video of the incident, Williams can be heard begging Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck—calling him several names that he said he didn’t regret.‘I Witnessed a Murder’: MMA Fighter Who Watched Floyd Die Had to ‘Call the Police on the Police’Darnella, a teenager who shot the viral video of Floyd’s death, testified Tuesday that Floyd “was suffering” and repeatedly saying he could not breathe. As the crowd grew, Chauvin and Thao even reached for their mace, she said.“You guys are on another level!” Hansen yells a video as Chauvin continues to kneel on Floyd’s neck. Prosecutors said Floyd did not have a pulse when he was loaded into the emergency vehicle.Darnella told jurors that paramedics had to motion for Chauvin to get off Floyd when they arrived. The teenager’s 9-year-old-cousin, who also testified on Tuesday, described how Chauvin had to be “pulled” off Floyd.The Hennepin County Medical Examiner concluded Floyd died of cardiac arrest from the restraint and neck compression, also noting that Floyd had heart disease and fentanyl in his system. An independent report commissioned by Floyd’s family, which will not be shown at trial, concluded that he died of strangulation from the pressure to his back and neck. Both reports determined Floyd’s death was a homicide.Getting angry on the stand, Hansen said that, had she been working the day Floyd was arrested, she “would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities...and this human was denied that right."“I should have called 911 immediately,” Hansen said.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Don’t worry if you catch coronavirus when fully vaccinated — it can happen. Here’s why

    Experts call these cases “breakthrough infections.”

  • Jeffrey Epstein threatened to feed a woman he sex-trafficked to alligators if she talked, new lawsuit says

    A new lawsuit says Epstein told a woman he sex-trafficked he'd feed her to alligators and have her son deported if she spoke to authorities.

  • Parents hide 52,000 fentanyl pills inside child’s car seat, Arizona officials say

    Three children under the age of 6 were in the car when the pills were found, officials said.

  • Gold mine expansion could produce $2.5 billion. But environmental problems linger.

    A gold mine would inflict more damage on the landscape by expanding. But the effort could produce $256 million in gold and silver each year.

  • Sharon Stone says she paid Leonardo DiCaprio's 'The Quick and the Dead' salary because the studio didn't want to hire him

    At the time, Leonardo DiCaprio was just starting his career and had yet to star in "Titanic" or "Romeo and Juliet."

  • ‘I just killed my son.’ Dad tells 911 he beat 5-year-old in Ohio with baseball bat

    “What do you mean you just killed your son?” the dispatcher said. “I’m hearing voices,” the father responded.

  • ‘I just killed my son.’ Dad tells 911 he beat 5-year-old in Ohio with baseball bat

    “What do you mean you just killed your son?” the dispatcher said. “I’m hearing voices,” the father responded.

  • Here are the main theories of how the Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal

    Multiple, sometimes contradictory explanations have been floated as to how the Ever Given ran aground. An investigation is ongoing.

  • Trump must face 'Apprentice' contestant's defamation lawsuit -NY court

    New York state's highest court on Tuesday cleared the way for a former contestant on "The Apprentice" to sue Donald Trump for defamation, after the former U.S. president called her a liar for accusing him of sexual assault. Trump had argued before leaving the White House on Jan. 20 that Summer Zervos could not pursue her case because a sitting president could not be sued, but the state Court of Appeals said in a brief order that "the issues presented have become moot." Zervos' case will now return to a Manhattan trial court, where her lawyers may have an opportunity to question Trump under oath.

  • Healthcare worker walks for first time in 1 year after contracting COVID-19

    Peter Woullard, a behavioral health technician at St. Charles Parish Hospital, tested positive for coronavirus on March 31, 2020. A frontline worker in New Orleans has walked for the first time one year after contracting a severe case of COVID-19 early on in the pandemic.

  • US home prices soared in January by most in seven years

    U.S. home prices increased at the fastest pace in seven years in January as the pandemic has fueled demand for single-family houses even as the supply for such homes shrinks. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday, rose 11.1% in January from a year earlier. “January’s data remain consistent with the view that COVID has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban apartments to suburban homes,” said Craig Lazzara, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P DJI.

  • Democratic lawmakers seek to halt USPS delivery vehicle contract

    Thirteen U.S. House Democratic lawmakers on Monday urged the U.S. Postal Service's governing board to halt implementation of a contract that could be worth $6 billion to build up to 165,000 next-generation delivery vehicles.