Man Faces Charges for Stalking College Basketball Star Paige Bueckers
Man Faces Charges for Stalking College Basketball Star Paige Bueckers
A 40-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly stalking and harassing University of Connecticut women's basketball star Paige Bueckers. Robert Cole Parmalee of Grants Pass, Oregon, was taken into custody by UConn police on Friday. He appeared in court on Monday and was ordered held on a $100,000 bond.
Parmalee first came to the attention of UConn authorities in June after sending a series of strange emails to the school's communications department. Claiming to be a member of royalty, he expressed his desire to marry someone associated with the Huskies' women's basketball team. His fixation on Bueckers intensified, with social media posts featuring a fake wedding invitation and photos of him with what appeared to be an engagement ring. Before his arrest in August, he publicly declared his intention to propose to Bueckers and have her expelled from UConn.
UConn police became inc
reasingly concerned about Parmalee's behavior, particularly after he was seen walking on a highway near Hartford in August. He told police he was on his way to see Bueckers. Additionally, his social media posts contained alarming and threatening language. In one TikTok video, he wrote, "And if I cannot live with a woman of my choosing, [Bueckers], then I will choose to die, and I will choose to take all of you that (op)pose me, oppose us, to hell, and return, king..."
According to an affidavit, Parmalee had been messaging Bueckers on Instagram since February. Bueckers did not respond to his messages, and on Friday, she told UConn police that she feared for her safety and that of her family and teammates.
Neither Bueckers' lawyers nor the UConn women's basketball team have issued any public statements regarding the matter.
A Connecticut superior court judge on Monday ordered Parmalee to undergo "intense pretrial supervision," including GPS tracking.
Bueckers was named Big East Player of the Year and a first-team All-American last season. She averaged a career-high 21.9 points per game and helped lead the Huskies to the Final Four.
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