YORK, Maine (AP) - A Massachusetts man has been charged in the beating death of his girlfriend at a beach in Maine on Friday.
Maine State Police said the York Police Department received multiple 911 calls reporting a man assaulting a woman behind a large rock at Short Sands Beach at around 4 p.m.
Arriving officers detained Jeffrey Buchannan, 33, of Bedford, Massachusetts and found Rhonda Pattelena, 35, also of Bedford, dead behind the rock.
State police didn’t provide any further details other than to say the two were domestic partners and had one mutual child.
The state medical examiner’s office on Saturday ruled Pattelena’s death a homicide caused by blunt force injury to the head.
Buchannan was charged with murder and is in custody at York County Jail. He’s expected to make his first court appearance at the York County Superior Court in Alfred next week. It’s not immediately clear if Buchannan has a lawyer.
State police said investigators are expected to continue their investigation through the weekend. The agency said there’s no on-going risk to public safety.
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