A 40-year-old man pleaded guilty to a stalking charge after he was accused of harassing college basketball player Paige Bueckers.
Buckers is a 23-year-old guard at the University of Connecticut and reportedly received a series of videos via Instagram from suspect Robert Cole Parmalee as early as February.
According to ESPN, Parmalee had emailed UConn saying he was a member of the royal family who wanted to marry a player on the women’s basketball team.
‘I will choose to take all of you that [op]pose me.’
Parmalee had also reportedly posted photos, videos, and comments online about Bueckers on platforms like TikTok, including one that read:
“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.”
The Associated Press reported that Parmalee’s social media posts contained dozens of references to the basketball player, including a post of a fake wedding invitation and multiple photos of himself with what appeared to be a diamond engagement ring. Other posts allegedly threatened Bueckers’ friends and family.
Parmalee also said on social media that he intended to travel to the East Coast and propose to Bueckers and get her expelled from her university.
The suspect seemingly attempted to follow through and was arrested in August while walking along a highway near Bradley International Airport, near Hartford. He was detained with a ring and lingerie and told a state trooper he was on his way to see Bueckers at UConn.
With his last-known addresses in Grants Pass, Oregon, and Ritzville, Washington, it had appeared that Parmalee had indeed flown in from the northwest to confront the young athlete. Parmalee already had a warrant for his arrest from Josephine County, Oregon, where he was accused of setting a home on fire while roommates and animals were inside.
After originally facing charges for stalking, breach of the peace, and harassment, Parmalee has now pleaded guilty to second-degree stalking.
Bueckers has averaged more than 20 points per game in three of her four seasons with UConn. She is also ranked No. 28 in the NCAA name, image, and likeness top 100 list on NIL tracking website On3.
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Sports, Ncaa, Women’s sports, Basketball, Fearless
